Dream Me Home
by Pitts Princess 12
Summary: Rose tried, she really did. But he isn't the man she wants and he knows it. He lost everything, again, it just slipped through his fingers. Now he's had enough. He's taking drastic measures so he never feels this loss again. The TARDIS knows how to save him, who can save him, so she's calling her Wolf home. Can Rose find him and undo the damage he's done? Rose/11 Reunion fic
1. Chapter One Too Much

Chapter One~*~ Too Much

He closed the door behind him and looked around his ship, the most amazing ship in existence, and was so tired. He was so tired of losing them. People he adored, people he respected, smart people, funny people, he seemed to lose them all. Even people he loved, beyond measure, he seemed to find a way to destroy that too. It was all too much, it was all too heavy and he was so tired. He rubbed the back of his neck as he trudged up the ramp to the heart of his TARDIS. His beautiful machine, there really were none like her. This had been just like all the rest. He'd been sure they had won, saved the day, everyone lives. But then he was left staring at a head stone carved with the names of his two best friends in the world. That was all that was left of them. No way to ever see them again, at least not without ripping apart the fabric of time and space. Not that he hadn't given it some thought, after all, he'd destroyed a sun to say goodbye once.

He flopped back in the jump seat and ran his hands through his hair and laced his fingers together at the back of his neck and leaned forward towards his knees. He sat there like that for a good ten minutes, contemplating his decision. He looked up as a light started to flash over the console.

"No," He said shaking his head. "I'm done; I can't do it anymore." He jumped off the seat and ran towards the console, now with a determined look on his face. "I can't keep losing them, one after the other, I just can't," He sounded so defeated and his TARDIS ached for his shattering hearts. He plugged in some coordinates before he went down under the grating to look for something. He found what he was looking for fairly fast and looked at the doors as he felt his ship land. He tossed the pocket watch once in the air and caught it deftly in his hand before walking back to the console.

"You understand, right old girl?" He asked lovingly running a hand across the surface. The lights blinked to a soft pink. "Yeah, knew you would." He went down under the grating again, and came back up, this time holding an odd looking helmet, covered in wires. "I just want to forget."

~*~*~Rose~*~*~

Rose stretched as she slowly came awake. She rolled her shoulders and rolled over to check the time. Damn, she'd only slept for 4 hours. She felt well rested though; she had come to find she didn't need quite as much sleep anymore. She picked up her phone and unlocked it and sighed. Today was the day. He was getting married. She looked at the invitation sitting on her bedside table and shook her head slightly.

_Dr. James Smith and Anglia Monro_

_Request the honor of your company  
at the celebration of their union_

_January 23 2012 at 6pm_

Rose was happy for him, she really was. She'd tried, god how she'd tried to see him as he saw himself. As far as he was concerned, he was the Doctor. Part human, but still fully the Doctor, but, as she'd ultimately come to discover, not her Doctor. Rose just felt something different with him. Even her mum thought she was a bit daft; he really was the same man. Just as brave, just as funny and smart. But Rose could never fully bring herself to let go with him, as she'd done with her Doctor. They'd tried to make it work, together, for almost a year, he'd given a lot more than she, and she could admit that. He'd tried really damned hard, cause he really did love her. He'd told her, over and over, he only wanted to settle down here with her, as he'd promised on that day at the beach. But Rose, as selfish and weird as it was, couldn't make herself love him as she'd loved her Doctor. So she'd let him go. After he'd finally given up trying to change her mind he'd moved out of her parent's mansion.

It was just too hard for him, to see her day after day at home and at work. She'd given him space, helped him find a place. And let him move on with his life. It had taken tremendous work, from both of them, but in the end, and after almost a year, they'd worked out how to be friends. So that day almost two years ago, when he mentioned a girl he met at the coffee shop down the street from Torchwood, she'd told him to be brave, ask her out.

Rose looked over at the dress hanging from her closet door, a very simple dress in a blue and green swirling pattern. Her mum had helped her pick it out. At least she had a few hours to read before the wedding. She opened the top drawer of her bedside table and pulled out a report marked TOP SECRET in bold red letters. She thought it was a little cliché but she wasn't in charge of that kind of thing. Rose pulled the bundle of papers out of the folder and tossed the folder onto her bed. She tucked the report under her arm and grabbed her phone before heading downstairs for some tea and breakfast. If there could be one good thing said about this universe it would have to be that her mums' cook was amazing.

~*~*~*~Work~*~*~*~*~

A few hours later and Rose was putting on her coat and thinking over the report she'd just read. Something was nagging at the back of her brain and she wanted to pop over to the office for a moment to check it out. She sighed as he mum came walking into the living room, dressed to the nines already.

"Mum the wedding isn't for another 5 hours, aren't you a little early?" Rose asked as she fished her keys out of her purse.

"Well, it may be the only wedding I get to go to, wanna look my best." She said as she looked down at the dress then up to see Rose's crestfallen face. "I'm sorry Rose I didn't mean-

"I'm running to the office for a bit. I'll be back by one. Tony's suit is in the closet; don't forget he needs to be at the church two hours early for pictures." Rose interrupted her as she opened the door. "I'll see you soon." She slammed the door before he mum could get another word in and started towards her car. Her mum could never understand why she wasn't with this Doctor. And honestly Rose couldn't fully explain it herself, so she'd given up trying.

She got in the car and pulled up her music list, thankful that most of her favorite singers still made music in this universe. Though the Beetles weren't a band here, and neither were the Spice Girls, though that one didn't sadden her much.

The drive into work wasn't too bad, hardly any traffic at 9:30 in the morning. She let her mind wander to her current project, her only project really. She'd been spending the last two years in a desperate search for a way home. Her mum knew; she understood that Rose couldn't stay here. It was probably why her mum had wanted things to work with this Doctor so badly. She knew if they didn't Rose would be forever looking for a way 'home.'

Rose drove up to the gate and smiled at the guard as he came out of his little guard shack.

"Good morning Ms. Tyler," He said as she stopped next to him. "Don't you have a thing today?"

"Yeah, I just need to check on something before hand, won't be but an hour." She told him handing over her ID card. "How's Sarah?" She asked as he scanned her card. "Is that cutie sleeping through the night yet?"

"She'd doing pretty good!" He said his smile widening. "Na, she's just started teething, no time for sleep." He joked and Rose chuckled as he handed her the ID card.

"Your poor wife!" Rose told him and she put her card away. "Have a good weekend Bill."

"You too Ms. Tyler!" He said and she drove down the small hill to the parking garage. All Rose could think about as she parked and got out to head up to her office was the fact that she didn't want to go to this wedding. It wasn't that she didn't want him to be happy, because she did. But it was going to be weird watching him get married; it would be like going to an ex's wedding, which was technically true. Like an ex who she had such a weird, unsettled history with. Rose sat down at her desk and ran her hands through her hair.

~*~*~Dark~*~*~

It was dark and she didn't like it. She knew her Doctor was hurting, beyond measure. She knew he was sad and broken, but it was dark and she didn't like it. The lights flashed on and she dug down deep. She searched out into the void, looking for the one thing that she knew could heal her Doctor. So she called; she reached out and she called to the one force in all the worlds that could fix her Doctor. She called for her Bad Wolf.

~*~*~Dark~*~*~

Rose was sitting next to her mum, a few rows back from the altar. James had just walked up the aisle, followed by Pete, who he'd grown very close to over the last few years. James looked wonderful, decked out in a tux, but still wearing his same old converse, black now, to go with his outfit. Rose watched, a jumble of emotions washing through her as the music changed and everyone stood. She looked back as Anglia came walking down the aisle, her long black hair tucked up into a slightly messy bun and covered with a short sparkly veil. Rose almost didn't want to look at James again. She knew what she would see there. She knew that face as well as she knew her own. She took a deep breath and finally turned as Anglia made it to the altar. James reached out and ran a hand over her check and smiled. It was a smile Rose knew so well, but it felt different now. Everyone sat back down and Rose felt tears well in her eyes. She could see how much James loved Anglia and knew, just knew he'd be okay. Oh how she longed to see that look in the eyes of her Doctor, directed at her.

"Mum," Rose murmured placing her hand on her mum's hand. Jackie looked away from the ceremony to Rose and almost flinched at the pain she saw in her daughters eyes. "I have to go," Rose whispered thankful that they'd sat on the outside isle. Jackie watched as Rose slid from her seat and with a well practiced silence walked to the back of the church. As she reached the doors James' head shifted towards her ever so slightly and she met his eyes. She smiled at him before she pushed the doors open and walked out.

~*~T~*~

She was having trouble breaking though. She'd just have to try harder. She must find her Bad Wolf!

~*~T~*~

Rose was sitting back in her bedroom, the dress she'd been wearing thrown over a chair. She just couldn't take this for very much longer. She missed the Doctor so much it sometimes felt like she couldn't breathe. Sometimes she was so mad at him for leaving her here again that all she wanted to do was slap him. And then sometimes, more often than not, all she wanted was to be in his arms again, after a huge, crazy adventure. Just the two of them, sitting in the TV room, watching some stupid movie to take their minds off the fact that they could have died. Rose was sitting with her head in her hands, wishing she could get home, when her chest started to tingle. She reached up and rubbed it and realized it was right were her key was sitting, just under her shirt. She sat up at shook her head, now she was imagining things. She reached over to grab a brush but her hand stopped mid way as she met her own eyes in the mirror. There was a flash of gold, it only lasted a few seconds, but she was sure she saw it. Then it was just gone.

"Now you're really losing it" She mumbled to herself and she stood up and walked over to her bed. She just needed to sleep. Sleep and she'd get back to work on her project in the morning. She crawled into bed, pulling the covers up and over herself. She was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

~*~*~Dream~*~*~*~

Rose knew it for a dream almost immediately. She was walking through the halls of the TARDIS; that she knew for sure, though it looked different then it had the last time she'd been in it. The main lights were dim and the emergency lights were flashing a soft golden light. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew it was important she get there. She turned a corner and came to what she was sure was the control room. She looked around, not really surprised to find it empty. Something in the air made her shiver and she rubbed her bare arms.

"Ah, my Bad Wolf," Rose whipped around at the airy, quite voice but found she was still alone. "He needs you so badly right now." Rose wasn't totally sure, but she thought she might be talking directly with the TARDIS.

"I can't do anything," She whispered shaking her head sadly. "I wish I could." She said mostly to herself, though she knew if this was real the TARDIS could hear her anyway.

"What if you could?" The voice asked and Rose looked around again. "He's hurting, so very badly,"

"I'm working on getting back to him; I'm not sure how long it's going to take." Rose told the ship and shivered again.

"It won't be soon enough," And Rose shivered again at the words. "He needs you now!" and the voice was forceful now as tears ran down her face.

"What can I do?" Rose demanded turning around in circles, helplessly. "I'd go to him, right this very second if I could!" Rose shouted now.

"Good," The voice murmured now. "Good." It said again and Rose could almost see the satisfied smile that went with the tone of the voice. "You must find him, you must help him remember."

"Help him remember what?" Rose asked as the dream started to fade around her. "How do I go to him?!" She demanded but got no answer.

~*~Waking~*~

Rose came awake with a loud gasp as her eyes flew open. Her head was pounding and she had to fight down the nausea that bubbled up her throat. She took a few breaths and she rubbed her head, trying to gain her bearings. She sat up slowly, keeping the nausea at bay. She was thankful it was still so dark in her room; the light would do nothing to help her head. Heat was radiating from the key hanging around her neck, hot, but not burning. She reached up and touched it as her dream came rushing back to her. Something was wrong with the Doctor. She was sure that it hadn't been your typical dream. She knew somehow the TARDIS had reached out to her, had called to her Bad Wolf.

She swung her feet over the side of the bed, but she hissed and pulled them back after setting them on the floor for only a moment. Her room at her mums wasn't carpeted, and her feet had met with a soft, fluffy rug. Rose reached for where her lamp should be only to find empty air. Her hand came in contact with the bedside table finally and Rose groped around for her phone but couldn't find it. Now she was cursing the darkness and wondering where the hell she was. She knew she had fallen asleep in her room at her mum's house. Had she been kidnapped somehow?

She stood slowly, finding her whole body was a little achy, though she didn't know why. She walked forward slowly, able to see just a few details of the room. It looked familiar somehow. She reached out as she finally came to a wall, and searched around for some kind of light switch. She took no time in turning the light on when she finally found it.

Now she was sure she must still be sleeping. This must still be part of the dream, right? She slowly looked around the room she hadn't been in for such a very, very long time. It was her room on the TARDIS, just as she'd left it the last time she'd been in it. Pictures lined her mirror across from her. She stumbled over to it and stubbed her toe on a pair of shoes, a pair of converse. Her toe throbbed as she looked down at the shoes and she realized she was not dreaming. She was on the TARDIS; though she had no idea how she'd gotten here.

For a moment her heart ached for her mum, who was going to find her gone in the morning with no explanation. She took a deep breath and decided to deal with that particular pain later. Once she figured out what was going on she'd find a way to get her mum a message. Rose shivered and realized she was still just in her tank top and pajama bottoms. It was a little odd that it was cold in here, the TARDIS always kept her rooms just perfect.

Rose dug out a tee-shirt and some jeans, and threw them on with the jacket that was hanging on the back of the door and her trainers before she opened the door. She leaned out just a little and looked right and left. The hall way looked just as it had in her dream. Rose was use to the unknown, but something prickled the back of her neck as she stepped out her door. She found she didn't have to walk far before she found the very different console room. She walked down the stairs, taking it all in.

"Doctor?" She called out hesitantly, unsure to what she might find. The TARDIS looked deserted.

"Voice Interface Enabled" Rose spun around at the voice only to come face to face her Doctor, though his face was void of expression and emotion. The image was translucent though, and it gave Rose terrible Bad Wolf Bay flashbacks along with Emergency program One.

"Doctor?" She whispered now as she stared at the image of the man standing in front of her. Wishing she could reach out and touch it, even though she knew it wasn't him.

"This is an image extrapolated from your memories," The image said, it was slightly echoy, though the voice was human, it still sounded very robotic.

"Where is the Doctor?" Rose asked, not sure what to expect.

"The Doctors location has been deleted," The image told her and Rose was surprised by that. Why would he delete his location from the TARDIS? She hadn't even thought he could do that.

"Why?" She asked it as she walked around, slightly unnerved at how it turned as she walked, keeping its eyes on her.

"Unknown," The image told her and she sighed; this was going to take a while.

"Is he in trouble of some kind?" She asked after a second of silence. This was like playing 20 questions, only she wasn't sure what she was trying to figure out.

"Unknown" The voice said and Rose nodded her head, well this was helpful, she thought sarcastically.

"What is the Doctor doing here?" She asked as she ran her hand along the console, aware of the fact that the TARDIS was running on emergency power only. "Unknown," She murmured at the same time the image said it and nodded her head again.

"Can't you give me a little hint?" She exclaimed looking around the ship, not talking to the image now. "Just a little help?"

"Where are we parked?" Rose finally asked looking over at the doors then back to the image of the Doctor. They could lead anywhere and she wasn't about to just go wondering out there.

"Earth, Cardiff, 2014," The image informed her and she smiled, at least she'd know her way around, mostly. Rose turned at the buzzing sound behind her and watched as two things popped up out of the console. It was the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and his psychic paper. Where could he possibly be that he wouldn't need these things? She hurried over to them and grabbed them and slid them into the pocket in her jacket. They were bigger on the inside, something the Doctor had done for her a very long time ago. At least now she had ID and a way to get cash, since she didn't know how long she'd be here. And she couldn't go by Rose Tyler here, she was dead in this universe after all.

She looked at the image again; it was just staring at her. She took a deep breath and tried to think of something else to ask, she needed more answers. She needed to figure out where he was, and what he was doing. Why did he need her help so desperately that the TARDIS had somehow pulled her from her universe?

"What is the last thing the Doctor did before he left?" She finally decided on as she sat down in the jump seat.

"Before the Doctor left he activated the Chameleon Arch," The image told her and she just stared at him, she had no idea what that meant. While James had talked to her about the things he'd done after losing her the first time, he left a lot out. And after he'd met Anglia they didn't see each other nearly as often. She idly wondered if he'd know what the Chameleon Arch was.

"And what does that do?" She asked thinking the first thing she needed to do was get a phone. She may need help, and she was sure there were a few people here who would help her. Mickey was here after all, and Jack. She'd need to find them somehow.

"The Chameleon Arch can be used to rewrite biology," The image said and now Rose was really confused.

"Rewrite biology?" Rose asked standing now. "Why'd he do that?"

"Unknown," It said and Rose nodded her head, she hadn't really been talking to it anyway.

"What did he rewrite his biology into?" Rose asked turning to the image now.

"Human," The image said and Rose was even more puzzled. Why would the Doctor want to become human? For all the love he seemed to have for the human race Rose couldn't ever see him willingly becoming a human, so why now?

"What are the side effects of this rewrite?" Rose asked the image as she ran her hand through her hair. "Run it through for me?"

"The Doctor had the TARDIS create a life and place for him here on earth, and then used the Chameleon Arch to become human. It takes all memories of being a Time Lord and erases them," Rose's eyes went wide as the image explained things to her. Her dream, it made so much sense now.

"_You must find him, you must help him remember."_

That's what the TARDIS had told her in her dream. She had to find him and make him remember, but how? Why would he do this? There had to be a reason, he wouldn't do this on a lark. What the hell had happened to him after he left her on that beach again?

Why would he make himself forget everything? It didn't make sense. She pulled herself onto one of the jump seats and noticed a red sweater hanging over the railing. It looked like a woman's sweater, a companion? Somehow it made her feel better to know he hadn't been alone after what happened to Donna, James had told her what the Doctor would have been forced to do to her. She jumped down onto the glass floor and walked around the console slowly till her eyes feel on a long piece of blue silky fabric. It looked like and untied bow tie. She's only known the Doctor to wear a bow tie in his tux, and it had been black then. She ran the piece of silk through her hands as she thought.

"Is it reversible?" She asked, her voice trembling a little. What if it wasn't, what would she do if she couldn't find a way to help him?

"Yes," It said simply and Rose let out a sharp breath and closed her eyes for a moment. She felt like she was coming to the end of this things information database.

"How?" She wondered, hoping it wasn't going to be something involving another Time Lord, cause then they would be truly screwed.

"He must look into the heart of the watch, it holds all of his biological information, and when opened will reactivate his Time Lord DNA." It told her and Rose nodded her head. That was helpful, kind of. So she was looking for a watch of some kind, and it had to be opened, so a pocket watch then. She looked down at the piece of silk and smiled.

"Has he regenerated?" Rose asked as she stuffed the bowtie into her pocket.

"He is no longer in this form," The Voice Interface told her and she sighed. She knew that only made things that much harder.

"Do you have any images of the Doctor now?" She asked not really very hopeful.

"Unavailable," It said and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that." She leaned against the rail and sighed. "How long ago did he leave the TARDIS?" Rose asked rubbing the back of her neck; she could feel a bit of a headache coming on.

Rose jumped a foot in the air at the sudden sharp pounding on the door. She looked to the console and hoped that even on emergency power the doors were still as strong. She knew how many enemies the Doctor had, though not many of them would pound on the door like that.

"Doctor! Open up already!" Her eyes brightened at the voice and Rose went running towards the door. She threw it open and was greeted by a look of surprise and then joy. "Rosie!" Jack said as he pulled her up into a huge hug. "What are you doing back here?"

"That is a really good question," She said as he set her back down on her feet. "I went to bed at mums, in the other universe then had a very weird, vivid dream of the TARDIS and woke up back in my room here." She looked back inside the TARDIS and sighed.

"So no one in the other universe knows you're here?" Jack asked and she could see the look of worry he had for her family, she'd missed Jack. "What about... the other him?"

"Ah, you mean James." She smiled nodding her head. "I'd assume by now he's on his honeymoon, I think they were headed to Africa or something." Jack noticed there was no bitterness to her words and wondered what had happened there. But he decided to save that for later.

"And where is this Doctor?" Jack asked looking over her shoulder at the TARDIS.

"That is another really great question," Rose said nodding her head. "How about you take me to get some chips and I'll fill you in and you can tell me what you're doing here too," She said and he nodded his head and put his arm over her shoulder.

~*~*~Hiding~*~*~*~

Dr. Jason Noble smiled as his students filed into the room, chitchatting with each other. He loved teaching, loved watching the students absorb the information he was giving them. It had taken him a while to work up to being a Professor, but he was finally here and very happy for it. He looked around the large room and smiled as his students waved or smiled at him as they took their seats. He didn't mean to brag, but he was a very well loved teacher, even though he'd only been at the school for two months.

"Alright class, today we'll be going over the chapters we read yesterday," He said as they all opened their books and he smiled and started the lecture.

A/N- Hope everyone likes this so far. I love hearing from my readers! I kinda know where I'm taking this, but we'll see. Review! :-)


	2. Chapter Two Looking

A/N- Quick note, I accidentally had the TARDIS say they were in London, but I meant for that to be Cardiff. I've gone back and fixed it, but just know going forward, they are in Cardiff. :-) Also I'm ignoring Torchwoods Children of Earth and Miracle Day. :-)

Chapter Two~*~ Looking

Rose pushed her chips around her plate as she spoke, but Jack noticed she did not eat much. His heart broke for her when she spoke of trying to make things work with the half-human Doctor, or James as he apparently went by now. She filled him in on everything the Voice Interface had told her about the Doctor. He also knew she was terribly worried about how her mum was taking her disappearance. After she was done with her story she took a long drink of her soda then set it down with a sigh. She'd been staring at her plate as she spoke, but when he looked up he was not surprised by the sadness there.

"I think she'll assume you're with the Doctor, that you figured something out and had to go." Jack said and Rose smiled halfheartedly at him.

"I hope so," she said with a nod. Rose knew Jack was mostly humoring her, but she let him, it helped to hope that that was what her mum would think.

"So, how should we go about finding the Doctor, now that he's regenerated?" Jack asked trying to distract her from her mum.

"God I don't know," Rose said running her hands through her hair and ending by pulling the ends just a little as she leaned her head back against the booth seat.

"Well I say we start by looking into strange alien interactions," a voice said and Rose dropped her hands and spun around.

"Mickey!" Rose yelled and she scooted out of the seat and then threw herself into him arms. She pulled back and looked at him for a moment as if she didn't quite believe he was there, and then she was hugging him again.

"Hi babe," he said as he pulled her close in a tight hug, rubbing her back soothingly. He looked over her shoulder at Jack who looked worried, but not scared, that was good; at least the world wasn't ending, again.

"How did you get here so fast from London?" She asked as he guided them back towards the booth.

"Don't live in London anymore," Mickey said picking up one of her untouched chips and popping it in his mouth.

"He's living in Newport now," Jack said while Mickey chewed. "He, Martha and-

"Wait, you and Martha?" Rose said turning to him with a huge smile on her face. "The Doctors Martha?"

"I think you'll find she's _my_ Martha," Mickey said with a slight glint in his eye and a teasing edge to his voice and Rose laughed.

"I'm so happy for you Mick's," Rose as she reached over and took his hand into hers.

"Oh that's not all," Jack said with a huge smirk and Mickey smiled at her.

"We er... have two kids," Mickey said and Rose's eyes went wide and she took a deep breath and nodded her head. Mickey was a father? She always knew if he grew up a bit he'd be an amazing father.

"Well, technically they only have one and a half." Jack said with a goofy grin. He always loved sappy reunions. And there was the added mystery of where the hell was the Doctor? It was turning into an eventful week.

"Martha is 6 months pregnant," Mickey explained at Rose's confused look. "We have a boy; he's 3, Johnathan Michael Smith." Rose smiled at the name and nodded her head. She assumed Johnathan was in some way to honor the Doctor. "And our daughter is due September 25th, we have her name picked out already."

"Well, what is it?" Rose asked and Mickey smiled at her and she couldn't believe how much he had changed. Could this really be the man who had hung on her leg when the Doctor asked her to go with him all those years ago? She had missed so much since being gone. She was looking forward to getting to know this new Mickey.

"Roselyn Jane Smith," He said and Rose took a deep breath. "But we're gonna call her Rosie for short."

"Oh Mickey," Rose said leaning into his side as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm honored."

"Well you know, without you and the Doctor we never would have met." Mickey said and Rose giggled at the sappy look on Jacks face. Mickey stole another of Rose's chips and squeezed her shoulders.

"Mickey and Martha work part time for _my_ Torchwood," Jack told Rose and she nodded. She understood why he'd made the distinction, seeing as it was Torchwood 1 that caused Rose and the Doctor to be separated in the first place. "Though at the moment Martha is only working at Royal Gwent hospital, its right next to their house."

"Well that's good to hear," Rose said nodding her head. She reached over and started eating and Jack smiled.

"So, how did you get here?" Mickey asked looking from Rose to Jack. "When Jack texted me all he said was you were back and looking for the Doctor." Rose gave Jack a pleading look as she picked up another chip. She didn't know if she could get through it all again without losing it. Jack nodded once then filled Mickey in on everything that had happened.

"Well then, I think my earlier point stands, we just take a look at alien interactions, find his new face." Mickey sat back and sighed. "We saw him last about 4 years ago, he saved our lives." He had a pensive look on his face when he looked at Rose. "We didn't know it yet, but Martha was pregnant with Johnathan at the time. We were working freelance at the time."

"Told them not to," Jack mumbled and Mickey shot him a small glare.

"Anyway, the Doctor still had the same face then, but it almost felt like...goodbye." Mickey said and Rose nodded her head.

"You think he was regenerating?" Rose asked and Mickey shrugged his shoulders.

"He didn't say anything, and he was pretty far away, but he looked-

"Sad," A new voice said and Rose looked up to see Martha standing there, her hand resting on the swell of her belly.

"Come sit by me gorgeous," Jack said patting his seat and Mickey glared at him good naturedly. Then he just rolled his eyes and looked back to Rose.

"Yes, I agree with Martha, he looked sad." Mickey agreed with Martha with a nod.

"So we just have to look over Torchwoods data base of his interactions here on earth," Jack said and Mickey nodded and Martha shook her head.

"How will we know it's him though, the newest him I mean?" Martha asked with a thoughtful look on her face. "I mean, he's had how many faces? Eight that you've never seen right? How will we know we've found the right one?" Martha said and then Rose smiled and it reminded Martha of the Doctor, when she'd say something particularly clever.

"Oh I see why he traveled with you Martha," Rose said nodding her head. "But luckily for us, I know what all 8 of the other Doctor's faces look like."

"How?" Mickey and Jack said at the same time and Rose smiled sadly.

"The Doctor showed me," she said picking up another chip.

~*~Trouble~*~

Jason Noble sat at his desk grading papers. Most of the professors on staff used a TA for this kind of work, but he rather enjoyed going over his students work. He reached up and loosened his tie a little and flipped open the top button on his shirt. It was almost 6pm, which meant any minute now he'd get a last minute student hoping to catch him before his office hours ended. He looked down at his watch and smiled. Fifteen minutes to go. He honestly didn't mind the last minute students; it was nice to help them understand the subject matter better. He looked up and smiled at the soft knock on his door.

"Come in," he called setting the paper he'd been looking at down. But it was not one of his students that walked through the door. The woman walking into his office looked to be just a bit older then him, her brown hair was twisted up onto the back of her head and she was wearing a pant suit and heels that had to be at least three inches high, not typical clothing for a college student.

"Oh hello," he said smiling pleasantly even though he felt an odd chill run down his back. "Can I help you...?

"Professor Andrews," she said holding out her hand with a smile, though it felt cold. He shook her hand, though he felt an odd sensation that made him want to snatch his hand back immediately. "And I just heard through the grape vine that you were new as well, thought I'd introduce myself. I just started two weeks ago myself," she said sitting in the chair across from his desk.

"Ah, yes, I've been here about 2 months now," he said sitting down behind his desk again.

"Are you new to Cardiff?" She asked, still with that pleasant smile that didn't reach her eyes. He wondered if she thought she was being charming, because she was not pulling it off if that was what she was going for.

"I grew up around here, but just moved back," he said wondering how long this was going to take. Something about this woman put his back up and he really wanted her to go.

"With your wife?" She asked and now there was a nastiness to her smile and he shifted.

"No, I'm not married," he said and the smile on her face widened. Though he was sure it wasn't because she was pleased he was single. He'd been flirted with a fair amount in his life, and this was not flirting.

"So your parents still live around here then?" She asked and he cleared his throat.

"No, my parents are dead, they died while I was in Uni," he said a sharp note to his voice. "It was nice to meet you, but I've got a lot of papers to grade still so..."

"Of course," she said standing and smiling at him again. "Perhaps we can get lunch sometime, since we're both new."

"Perhaps," he said nodding his head. She looked him over once more then turned and walked out of the room. He ran his hands through his hair once she was gone and shook his head. That had been very weird. He looked up at the second knock on the door and a girl from his class poked her head in.

"Professor, are you still available?" She asked her voice a bit nervous.

"Course I am Stacy," he said smiling as she stepped into his office. "What can I do for you?" He asked as she sat down. She went over the questions she had on the homework, a huge smile on her face the whole time. Once she was gone he went back to grading his papers, the odd encounter with Professor Andrews mostly forgotten.

~*~Alien~*~

"Well this is the Hub," Jack said as they lowered slowly from the invisible lift. Rose watched with fascination, it looked just a little bit alien. The tech was far beyond earth at this time and even she could tell. She was surprised when someone stepped out of a back room. He was wearing a brown pinstripe suit that actually made Rose think of the Doctor and a sharp sadness hit her at the thought. His dark brown hair was not worn very long. But when he looked up at the lift his slightly somber looking face lit up in a smile that made him look younger and a little eager. Rose looked over her shoulder and saw Jack wearing almost the same smile, ah, well good for Jack. The man, Rose thought he looked familiar, walked quickly down the stairs.

"Ianto, what are you still doing here?" Jack said as he stepped off the lift and strode over to him. Ianto, the name seemed to fit the man and now she knew where she recognized him from.

"I had some paper work to finish up," He said his smile going a little shy when Jack rubbed his arm. "I sent Gwen home about an hour ago."

"Workaholics, the two of you," Jack said turning to face the rest of the group. "Ianto, this is Rose Tyler."

"I remember you," Rose said as she stepped forward with her hand outstretched. He took it and they shook hands, Rose smiling widely at him. "You helped when the earth was stolen."

"I don't know that I was all that helpful," he said with a bit of a shrug and Rose smiled even wider. "I was under the impression from Jack that you'd gone back to the... other universe?" He said looking from her to Jack and back.

"I'll tell you, I gave the Doctor a few choice words when he told me what he did when I ran into him after." Jack said with a bit of anger around his eyes. "I didn't even get to say good-bye."

"Yeah, he can be a bit of a git," Rose said with an almost snarl the words '_does it need saying'_ flitting through her mind. Jack did not envy the Doctor when they found him and she lets him have it. "I was gutted, when I realized not only that he'd left me behind, but I would never see you or Mickey again." She said before she cleared her throat and then took a deep breath. "So, files?" She asked and Jack could see the shine to her eyes and swiftly helped her change the subject.

"Yes, files, videos, personal accounts, we've got it all here." He said nodding his head as he walked up the steps Ianto had just come down. "Ianto, do you want to help?"

"I'm here to serve," he asked giving Jack a flirty smile and Rose smiled as well. "Where do you need me?" Jack smirked and wiggled his eyebrows but when he opened his mouth to say something Rose cut him off and Jack pouted at her just a little.

"Could you help me with the computer files? I'm no good with computers," Rose asked as she started up the steps as well.

"Spoilsport," Jack said with a small chuckle and she laughed and Ianto nodded his head as he followed her up, with Martha and Mickey behind him.

"We'll start on the paper files," Mickey said as they passed Rose and headed up towards what looked like an office.

"Wait," Rose said and they turned towards here. "Might help if you know who you're looking for yeah, or who you're not looking for," she said with a smirk and Mickey nodded his head.

"Might do yeah," Mickey said and Rose nodded. Martha grabbed a pen and smiled at Rose as she pulled a piece of paper out of a printer.

"Okay, I'll just go in order yeah," Rose said as she closed her eyes and tried to pull up the memory from so long ago. They had been sitting on her bed at her mum's house, two days after battling the Sycorax. He'd been telling her more about regeneration when she'd asked how many times he'd done it.

"_I could show you," __he__ told her with an almost shy smile and she turned and crossed her legs so she was facing him._

"_How?" She asked curious and just a little nervous. He seemed to think it over for a few moments then smiled a little brighter._

"_I could... share the memories with you." He said holding his hand out towards her face and she nodded. Ah, she'd only ever seen her first Doctor go into someone's mind once; she hadn't even known he could do that till she watched him do it._

"_I __won't__...I __won't__ see anything, if that's worrying you, I'd be sharing, not looking." He said and Rose nodded her head then smiled a little. He so rarely shared and she wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to learn more about him._

"_Okay," __she__ said and his smile brightened and Rose was taken aback at how the smile made her heart flutter the same way her first Doctor's smile had. He'd raised his hand and touched her temple with his finger tips and talked as images flashed through her mind. The first one was an old man, gray white hair, a black suit and a small smile._

"_That was my first body," __he__ said and she nodded, careful not to dislodge his fingers. A bit younger this time with a terrible bowl hair cut that made Rose giggle._

"_Yeah, it only gets worse," __he__ said with a chuckle. Next he had curly short blond white hair wearing a bowtie._

"_Is that a cape?" Rose asked out loud and he sighed._

"_Moving on," __he__ said while Rose chuckled. "And...oh bugger, four is worse." He said before she laughed out loud at the image that flashed through her mind.  
_

"_That really is some scarf." She told him when she'd stopped laughing. "Looks very warm."_

"_It was," __the__ Doctor said with an amused tone. "Okay this is five, and before you ask, yes that is celery in my lapel, I really don't know what I was thinking."_

"_He's a bit pretty," Rose said and the Doctor chuckled._

"_Six had a thing for color," __the__ Doctor said, he could feel Rose nod her head._

"_And that's some curly hair," __she__ added before he moved on._

"_Seven had a thing for question marks; at least my taste in clothing has improved." He told her and she snickered at the hat. "And eight-_

"_Oh now he's... pretty." Rose said with an appreciative tone. "Love the velvet. You really have a thing for beautiful hair" Rose said and the Doctor chuckled again chuffed at her complement. He slowly drew his hand away, so not to jar her with the departure of his mind._

"_So, that's all of...me" __he__ told her and she nodded her head. Not long after that her mum had yelled that the tea was ready and soon after they were back on the TARDIS flying away to New New Earth. _

"So, that's as good as I can do," Rose said after she'd described them all to everyone, Martha had a full page of descriptions. "Call me if you find anything that doesn't fit those details. We'll probably get snagged on a few companions, because I know he's had a few guys with him."

"But we'll sort them out." Mickey said with a reassuring smile at Rose. "Well wife, let's get to it."

"Who's with Johnny?" Ianto asked before they walked away and Mickey smiled at him.

"He's at his Nan's" Mickey said and Ianto nodded his head.

"We're his godparents," Jack said indicating Ianto and himself and Rose smiled and nodded her head.

"That's great," Rose said smiling at Jack. It was great to see all the changes her friends had made, but part of her was sad to know that she missed them all. Everything had changed while she was away.

"Okay, computer files," Ianto said and Rose nodded her head. Ianto started to type something out then stopped and smiled. "Stop starring at my bum and go help Mickey and Martha, Jack." Ianto said without turning and Rose heard Jack chuckle before he stood up and walked towards where the others had gone.

"Oh I like you Ianto," Rose said and he looked down at her and flashed her that bright smile again.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Ianto asked and the three screens in front of them came to life as he started to pull up files. His fingers flew over the keys and Rose smiled. She'd never been very good with computers.

"Well this is... odd," Ianto said after a few moments as he clicked on one of their files. He had a confused expression on his face that made him look, younger somehow.

"What?" Rose asked leaning over his shoulder to look at the screen. She'd been expecting some kind of written report on the Doctor or something, but it was blank. Ianto clicked back and opened another file, only to find more nothing.

"They're all empty," he said shaking his head as he closed and opened another empty file, then another and another. "It's like every file we have on him is just... gone."

"Jack!" Rose called up the stairs towards where he'd followed Martha and Mickey. Jack came running down the stairs in an instant. Rose turned back to the computer when she saw Jack coming.

"Google him, Doctor plus TARDIS plus blue police box," Rose told Ianto and he nodded, pulling up a web page. He asked no questions as he put in the words Rose dictated. There was a small gasp from her after he hit enter.

"What is it?" Jack asked as he came up to the two of them.

"He's completely erased himself from history," Rose whispered with a shake of her head. "When I met the Doctor for the first time I found a man who was... We'll say... intrigued with the Doctor. He did that same search and there were hundreds of pages, thousands of stories about the Doctor. Now there's nothing, nothing but historical sights to see old police boxes and numbers for medical doctors." Rose turned to Jack, her face pale and her eyes bleak. "How will I find him now?"

"Well he didn't erase the hard copies," Mickey said coming down the stairs with Martha behind him. "We'll just keep looking, there are a dozen boxes full of files, he's in there somewhere." Jack placed his hand on Rose's shoulder and she took a deep breath and smiled, though Jack could see how forced it was.

"When you were talking about the voice interface you said he'd deleted his location," Jack said as a thought suddenly occurred to him and Rose nodded, unsure where he was going. "But you said when you asked about his appearance it told you 'unavailable,' is that right?" Jack asked warming up to the idea and a new light sparked in Rose's eyes and she smiled. Jack turned to Mickey.

"We'll keep looking," Mickey said before Jack could even open his mouth.

"As will I," Ianto said with a small nod.

"Okay," Jack said reaching down to take Rose's hand. "I think it's time we head back to the TARDIS." Jack told her and squeezed her hand.

"Let's go," Rose agreed nodding her head.

~*~Hacking~*~

"Are you really sure this is a good idea?" Rose asked sitting on the stairs that led down to under the console. Jack was holding the sonic screwdriver in his mouth as he reconnected a wire then raised the sonic to the wires and a smattering of sparks flew and he laughed.

"Course it is," Jack said looking over at her and winking. "If the image isn't deleted it's just buried, I just have to see if I can't persuade the old girl to show us."

"Right," Rose said nodding her head. "What could have happened that would be so bad he'd do this Jack?" Rose leaned back on the stairs, resting her elbows on the step behind her. "Do you think he's in some kind of trouble?"

"I don't know," Jack said honestly looking back to the wires. "I do know one thing though." Jack said looking back at her again. Rose waited for a moment then rolled her eyes.

"What's that Jack?" She asked sarcastically, knowing that's what he'd been waiting for.

"He's going to be thrilled to see you," Jack said with a wink and Rose sighed.

"Yeah, maybe," she mumbled. She wasn't so sure of that herself. He had left her after all. Flown away in his ship and left her standing on that beach again without a goodbye.

"Ah!" Jack yelped when a few more sparks flew. He shook out his burned finger and Rose chuckled. "I think I got it!" He said walking quickly to the stairs and helping Rose to her feet. They walked up to the main console and Jack began working at the keyboard. Rose wasn't sure how he did anything with it; it didn't look like any keyboard she'd ever seen.

Rose could tell Jack was getting frustrated. They'd been working on the TARDIS for almost an hour now and still had no images of the Doctor. She walked around the console while he worked, running her hands along the smooth surface of the console. It had a bit of Spook to it now and it made Rose smile. She made her way back to Jack just in time for him to pound his fist down on the edge of the console.

"Damn!" He growled and Rose touched his arm. He looked up at her and she smiled.

"It's okay Jack," she told him and he relaxed and sighed. "We'll figure this out yeah?"

"I just... I thought I had it," he said shaking his head. Rose ran her hand over the edge of the console again as she stepped away from Jack and nodded.

"Sorry I'm not more help," Rose told him and he smirked then he went back to the keyboard. Rose put both hands on the console and leaned in and looked at the glass cylinder. Rose sighed and felt a small shiver run along her spine then she looked over at Jack. His was staring at her, his eyes had gone wide and his mouth hung open like he had started to say something only to be struck silent.

"What?" Rose said then she felt the shiver again. "Jack what's wrong?"

"Rose," His voice was a harsh whisper and fear twisted her belly. She felt like someone had turned the heat up in the console room suddenly. "Your...your hands." Jack said his voice a little clearer now. Rose looked down at her hands, which were now glowing; they looked almost the same as the Doctors did when he started to regenerate. She snatched them off the console but the glowing didn't stop. She blinked then reached out as if something else was controlling the movement and laid her hand on the keyboard Jack had been using.

Words, number and images flew by on the screen in front of them and Rose was at a loss for words as they both watched. Something clicked on the screen and the glow in Rose's hands flare for just a moment then dissipated quickly.

"Emergency program eight," a voice Rose had never heard before said and they both whipped around to find a hologram of a man standing there. "Now Amy if you're seeing this...

"Jack, that's him," Rose said as she took in the bowtie and suspenders. His hair was longer than before and seemed to flop to the side a bit. She chuckled as he continued to talk to someone named Amy. It was nice to know he hadn't been alone. Jack pulled out his mobile and snapped a bunch of pictures as the emergency program wound down.

"We found him," Rose said stepping up to the hologram and studying his face. She looked into his eyes; blue, brown or green, even as a hologram, she would recognize those eyes anywhere. "Hello Doctor" she murmured with a soft smile on her face as a tear ran down her cheek.

~*~Hub~*~

"I have the search running," Ianto said when they made it back to the hub. Jack had sent the pictures he'd taken to the Hub. "We've got it searching globally at the moment."

"Can you narrow it down?" Rose asked as she hurried over to him at the computer. She looked at the screen as men's faces sped by, a 'no matches found' blinking in the corner of the screen.

"Yes, you have more specifics?" Ianto asked and Rose took a deep breath.

"Well, I don't think the TARDIS would set him up very far from where she is, so he's got to be in Cardiff, or the surrounding cities." Rose said and Ianto nodded as he added the specifics. "We once had to go under cover at a school; he went in as a teacher." Rose said as she ran her hand through her hair. "He told me after we'd solved everything he thought being a Professor might have been neat, if he wasn't, you know, the Doctor."

"Okay, there are three main Universities in Cardiff," Ianto said as he typed into the computer. "Now the picture isn't very good, seeing as it's a holographic photo, but-

"Image match," The computer intoned and Rose took a deep breath before she looked at the screen. The man in the University photo had a small smile on his face; his hair was still on the long side, falling over his forehead. His green eyes were bright, but even in the photo she could see the Doctor shining through. He was wearing a dark grey pinstriped dress shirt, the tie was dark but not quite black and over the shirt he had on a black vest with a chain strung between the pockets. Rose looked at the chain and wondered if it had the watch connected to it, which almost seemed to easy.

"Dr. Jason Noble," Rose read off the screen and she had to blink back the tears that prickled in her eyes. He'd taken Donna's last name, was that his doing or the TARDIS's she wondered. "He's been teaching here for two months, he got his first doctorate five years ago, he has three. They have him listed as 29 years old. Well that's only off by 950 years or so." Rose said as she continued to read.

"Well, I guess we'd better go do some shopping," Jack said and Rose looked up at him.

"For what?" Rose asked confused by the non sequitur.

"Well, you can't go to school in the same clothing every day." Jack said and Ianto nodded his head.

"Go to school?" Rose asked as she looked back at the screen. Then it clicked and she nodded. It made sense; she'd need to get close to him. She couldn't just walk in and tell him who he was. He'd think she was crazy. She'd need to figure out where the watch is, and then get him to open it.

"I can't go to college," Rose said after a second. "I'm almost 26, isn't that a little old for school?"

"First of all, you're never too old to go back to college." Jack told her with a wink and Rose rolled her eyes. How did he make everything sound dirty? "And second, Rosie, you don't look a day older than the day I met you." Jack told her and she scoffed a little.

"He's right though," Mickey said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Look," He said as he handed something over to her. It was a photo taken a few weeks before she'd met the Doctor. Her and Mickey in the pub, laughing at something. Jack picked something up off a table behind him and handed it to her, it was a mirror. She held the picture and the mirror up and looked from one to the other.

"Wow," she let out on a long breath. She hadn't changed at all; there were no beginnings of laugh lines on her face, not a single wrinkle. "Okay, well, that's...interesting." She said swallowing hard.

"I'll say," Jack said and she cleared her throat.

"But that mystery is for another day." She said setting the mirror down and handing Mickey the photo. "Can you get me into the school? I've got no records." Rose asked looking to Ianto.

"Can I get you in," Ianto mocked with a roll of his eyes and a smile. "Sticking with Rose yes?"

"If we can yeah," Rose said nodding her head.

~*~Class~*~

Rose set her bag down next to her as she sat down and pulled out her brand new laptop. She pulled out the book for the class and smiled. It was Pride and Prejudice, one of the many books the Doctor liked to read to her after adventures, her tucked up into his side, the fire flickering yellow and gold light across his face. At least she'd know the material. She looked up when the students around her went quiet. The Doctor, no, Professor Jason Noble, she needed to remember that, she didn't want to slip up, walked in and smiled at everyone.

"So class," he said as he opened his briefcase and Rose noticed the mischievous look in his eyes. "I hope you've all been keeping up on your reading. Pop quiz!" He said pulling a stack of papers out with a huge smile. There was a light groan through the class, but Rose got the feeling they didn't really mind all that much. He passed the papers out in the front and they handed them all back. Rose was in one of the back rows, so she got hers almost last.

"The last question is a bit of a bonus, have fun!" He said as he sat down and Rose flipped the paper over and read.

_Was Severus Snape a good guy? Explain your reasoning-_

Rose almost laughed out loud. She wondered how often his lectures segued into talking about Harry Potter. Knowing him it was probably at least 60% of the time, he loved those books, a trait he seemed to share with Dr. Jason Noble. She flipped the sheet back over and began answering questions about Pride and Prejudice though she couldn't wait to get to the last question, she had the perfect answer.

A/N- Hope everyone likes this so far. I love hearing from my readers!


	3. Chapter Three Bleed Through

Chapter Three ~*~

Rose ran her hands down her blouse again to smooth out the wrinkles that weren't there and took a deep breath. She was standing next to the coffee shop that Jason Noble had entered about 10 minutes ago. She'd been taking his class for about a week now and still hadn't spoken a single word to him. She was a little bit scared to be honest. She didn't know how it was going to feel to see him and have him not recognize her. She knew it was a little juvenile but she hated to think that he didn't remember her, even if it was because he'd erased everything from his memory. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open. She scanned the coffee shop and saw him sitting at a small table, a coffee in front of him and a book in his hands. He looked so content to just be there reading. She was walking backwards just a bit now and then felt something solid and wet at her back.

"What the bloody hell!?" She winced at the voice as she realized she'd walked right into someone. She turned around slowly to see who it was. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" The man, at least six feet tall and 250 pounds, all muscle, yelled as he glowered down at her.

"I'm so sorry," Rose said taking a step away from him, his face was full of fury and she looked down and saw his coffee all down his front.

"You should watch where you're going, stupid twat" he growled at her taking a step towards her.

"Now, the lady said she was sorry, there's no need for that" Rose heard from behind her and knew that voice immediately, she'd listened to it for a week now and she smiled, which had been the very wrong thing to do.

"Think its funny do you?" He snarled at her as he dropped the now empty cup and shoved her in the shoulder, making her stumble back a step.

"She said she was sorry, touch her again and you're going to be sorry," Jason warned, his voice taking on a sharp edge to it and Rose could not believe this was happening. Though this was so like him, rescuing someone in need. It was nice to know that he hadn't lost everything that made him the Doctor.

"What are you going to do about it wanker?" The big man said and suddenly Rose felt fingers slide over her wrist from behind her and then his hand was in hers and she was a little overwhelmed. His hand still fit in hers, just like it always did. She felt him step up to her, so he was right behind her now and she had to fight off the smile again, she didn't think that would help.

"Why don't you let me help you with that stain," He said and suddenly there was a cup of coffee flying at the guy standing in front of them. He yelled as it flew into his face. "Run!" Jason said pulling her arm now as he turned and pulled her with him.

They ran straight out the door and to the right, down the street then turning again down an alley. He finally stopped with a huge smile on his face and Rose began to giggle. He looked up at her and started to laugh too till they were both laughing like mad.

"Don't imagine I'll be welcome back there," he said after a moment. "It's fine though," he said when her smile fell. "Their banana bread was rubbish."

"Thanks for the rescue," She said finally looking up and meeting his eyes. She watched his face as he stared at her for a moment, all the humor drained from his face.

"You look familiar," he said and she took a deep breath. He didn't recognize her as Rose Tyler, it was just from class, he just knew her from class, she told herself as he stared. "Tyler," he murmured and Rose's heart leaped into her throat. She swallowed hard as he looked at her then shook his head and smiled again.

"Sorry, who?" She asked wishing he knew her, but she was sure it was just some fragment of a memory; it was going to take more than just seeing her to help him remember.

"Sorry, no one," he said and his smiled brightened. Rose ran her hands through her hair and came away with sticky wetness on her hands.

"Oh bugger," Rose said shaking her hands out. "I've got coffee all down my back," She said shifting her shoulders as she reached back and pulled her shirt away from her back.

"My flat is just round the corner, if you'd like to get out of that wet shirt." He told her and Rose's eyes went wide at what could be construed as a very blatant pick up line. His face began to turn bright red and his eyes widened as he realized what he'd said and how it sounded. "Oh that's not what I meant, I just-

"It's okay," Rose said chuckling at him. "I knew what you meant." He nodded, but the blush did not fade away. Truth be told he found her very attractive, he hadn't really looked at anyone this way since he'd moved back here. It had been a long while since he'd been in a relationship. But he really didn't want her to go now. Maybe he should ask her to dinner, or oh! Coffee, she'd been in the coffee shop for a reason, maybe he could take her for a cup of coffee.

"You didn't get your coffee," he told her and she smiled at him with a shrug. "You could, unless your flat is closer, borrow a shirt, and then I could, maybe, take you to get a cup. Somewhere else that's not there." He said pointing over her shoulder at in the direction of the coffee shop they'd just run from. Rose smiled brighter as he bumbled around; trying to ask her out she was sure.

"My flat is on the other side of town," Rose told him with a smile. "I um... I was at the library at the university." She told him. It was close to the little coffee shop they'd just run from, probably why he went there. "I um, actually I was taking your class." She told him and his eyes went wide. Shit, she thought at his crestfallen look. He frowned, well of course, the first women he'd had any interest in and he wasn't even allowed to...

"Wait, what do you mean you _were_ in my class?" He asked and she smiled. She and Jack had not thought the whole 'her taking his class thing' through. She wouldn't be able to get close to him if she was his student.

"Dropped it on Friday," She said making a mental note to text Ianto and have him do just that in her records. "Literature really isn't my thing, I'm a bit of a science geek, but I wanted to try." She could see the relief in his face as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Right, good that's good then," he said nodding his head. She knew there must be some kind of rule against dating your students, but not against dating students that weren't in your class. Rose shivered as she remembered that her back was covered in coffee. It wasn't cold out yet, it was only the last week of August, and it was a bit chilly with a wet shirt.

"Oh you must be freezing," he said as he watched her shiver. He reached out without thinking and took her hand and she smiled as his cheeks went pink again but he didn't let go. "My flat is just around the corner," He said again and Rose nodded, following him out of the alley.

"So, not interested in Literature huh, am I really that bad a teacher?" He asked with a teasing tone.

"No you're great, and your students love you," she told him and now she blushed just a bit. "But er, I'm working on a science degree and I'm just not a huge fan of reading fiction." She said with a shrug. She didn't mention that she liked to be read to more than reading.

"I understand, I have a doctorate in quantum physics," he told her and she nodded her head. She knew that already but she didn't want him to think she'd looked him up. "But my dad was always a big fan of reading to me, and I always loved a good story."

"I know," she said with a chuckle and he looked at her and she rushed on. "I mean, you can tell, you put a lot of passion into your class." He nodded then looked ahead and stopped walking.

"What is she doing here?" He muttered his tone exasperated and Rose looked towards the building they'd been walking towards. There was a woman of about 30 standing outside the entrance, dressed in what could be considered casual, skin tight blue jeans with a loose fitted top and three inch heels.

"Jason!" The woman said with a bright smile but Rose could see how fake it was. Rose was surprised he didn't let her hand go. He walked towards the building, but Rose could see his posture stiffen a bit, he didn't like this woman, whoever she was.

"Professor Andrews, what can I do for you?" He asked his voice a bit rigid.

"Please call me Samantha," she said her eyes darting to Rose then down to their hands. Her voice was pleasant, even a little bubbly, but her eyes were hard.

"What can I do for you?" He repeated and Rose had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She recognized that tone, she'd heard it before so many times as they dealt with royalty or mayors the Doctor didn't like or didn't agree with.

"I thought perhaps you could take me out like we talked about?" She said now not even looking at Rose. He squeezed her hand lightly and Rose felt a little thrill at the gesture. He always did that to make her feel better. Just how much of the Doctor was still in there?

"Sorry Samantha, but I'm just about to take Rose for coffee," he said looking over at Rose. Rose had to hide her surprise at that. She hadn't told him her name, but maybe he just remembered it from class, even though he hadn't seemed to know her from there. She'd sat in the very back and it was a large class.

"In your flat?" She asked the implication clear in her voice.

"Ah she had a bit of a run in with a gorilla with coffee, she's going to change, and then we're heading out." Jason said with a smirk at Rose. Rose smiled, her tongue tucked into the corner of her mouth and he seemed to stare at her for a moment. She saw him swallow visibly before he pulled his eyes away from her and looked back at Samantha. "Sorry," he said not sounding sorry at all.

"Well that's too bad," she pouted as she looked over at Rose then back at Jason. "Have a good day _Doctor_ Noble," she said with just a slight emphasis on the word doctor. Could she know who he was, was she after him for some reason? Shit, Rose thought as Professor Andrews walked away; she'd need to tell Jack about her, just in case.

"Well, she was interesting," Rose said with a smirk.

"Sorry," he said as he reached up and grabbed his collar, almost like he was going to touch a bow tie that wasn't there, then shifted his hand down and loosened his tie. "She's a bit intense, she just started teaching at the University, seems to think we should bond over both of us being new there."

"Oh that's right; you've only been here for two months. That's what it said on the course description." she said as they walked towards the building. "I only started school a week ago, just got back from a long trip abroad."

"America?" he asked as he led them over to a lift.

"Yeah, I went over to visit with my half-brother, he was born there, went out there after I turned 20, and started working with him and our dad. Spent about 5 years out there," she told him as they stepped onto the lift. "Then last month my brother asked if I'd come back here with him, he met a guy from here and wanted to give it a go, so I came back and decided to try school again." She told him hoping it didn't sound too rehearsed. It was the story she and Jack had come up with after Ianto told Jack what name he'd given her. She was officially Rose Harkness, and Jack had been a pain about it since he found out.

"_How are the classes going Miss Harkness?" Ianto asked when Rose sat down with her tea at the conference table. She was staying in a 'guest suite' in the hub, which was pretty much a bed in a small room. They had showers and stuff in another area, and she wasn't willing to get her own flat because if she was right she'd be back to traveling with the Doctor soon, please, please be right, she thought._

"_Good, he hasn't noticed me yet, but I'm one of 62 students" __she__ said with a smile and a shrug before she took a sip of her tea._

"_I'm sorry, did he say Miss Harkness?" Jack asked strolling into the conference room, his suspenders clipped but hanging down at his waist._

"_It seemed appropriate," Ianto said with a smirk and a shrug._

"_Ah, see, knew I'd get you to take my name eventually." Jack told her with a wiggle of his eyebrows._

"_Since Rose told me she thinks of you as a big brother," Ianto finished as if Jack hadn't spoken. Jack's smirk fell when he looked from Rose to Ianto and they both started to laugh._

"What part of America?" He asked as he unlocked the door to his flat. Rose followed him in as he pushed the door open.

"San Francisco," Rose said looking around the room. She looked to the left when she heard something meow and was shocked to see a cat sitting on the kitchen counter.

"That's Bella," he said walking by the cat; Rose noticed he gave it a bit of a wide birth. "She's my neighbor's cat; I'm watching her till Wednesday."

"Ah," she said nodding her head. That was too bad, she would have loved to tease him about owning a cat when he was the Doctor again. He looked around the entryway for a moment, seeming a little lost. Then he met her eyes and she smiled softly at him.

"Let me get you a shirt, and then you can get changed." He smiled at her before he walked back towards the door on the other side of the living room. He was gone for a few minutes and then he came back with a deep blue shirt in his hands. He unfolded it so she could see the front, then she laughed and he smiled. It said-

_You Matter_

_Unless you multiply_

_Yourself by the speed of light..._

_...Then you Energy_

It was long sleeved and looked very comfortable. He walked over and held it out to her.

"That's great, thanks," she said taking the shirt from him.

"I thought you might like that," he said with a soft smile. "Do you want some tea? It's almost 5 o'clock, I thought maybe instead of taking you for coffee you might like to grab some dinner, if you... want."

"That sounds great," Rose said with a nod. "I'll just..." she nodded towards the bedroom and he nodded and headed towards the kitchen. She walked over to the bedroom and closed the door behind her. She leaned against the door and took a deep breath. She really liked him, but she was trying not to get too attached to him, she wasn't sure how much of him would be left after she opened the watch. She looked around the room. It didn't look very lived in, a bit sparse. She walked over to the dresser and looked around the top but didn't see any pocket watches.

'_Rose,' _something whispered her name and she looked around the room. _'In the dark, I'm waiting.'_

"Rose, tea's ready," she jumped at the light tapping on the door.

"Right, thanks," she called as she peeled off her wet shirt and walked into the bathroom. She wet a flannel and wiped off her neck and shoulders then put on the shirt he'd given her, hanging her dirty one over the shower rod. The new shirt fit well, snug but not too tight. She walked out to find him sitting on his couch, his jacket hanging over a chair, and his tie was gone. She wasn't sure if she should sit next to him or in the chair to his right.

"Tea's getting cold," He said with a bright smile and Rose nodded and walked over and sat on the couch next to him. She picked it up and took a sip and closed her eyes. It was perfect, he remembered, somehow, just how she took her tea.

"It's perfect, thanks," she told him as she tucked her legs up under her and sat back.

"That's a really interesting ring," he said and she looked down at the ring on her right hand. It was the only thing she still had from when she traveled with him. She'd been wearing it when they were separated. "That stone is unlike anything I've ever seen." She looked down at the stone; it was green and almost seemed to swirl with blue, moving slowly.

"What would you say if I told you I got it at an alien market in space?" She asked with a smirk and he looked up and met her eyes then smiled.

"I'd say you have a very clever imagination," he said with a smirk. He watched the slow smile that bloomed over her face. He had a sudden urge to lean over and kiss her. He hadn't even known her an hour and yet he wanted to put his arm around her and pull her into his side. He knew she'd fit next to him like a puzzle piece; almost like they did this all the time.

"Or that I'm crazy," She told him and he chuckled.

"I would never call a pretty girl crazy; that would be rude." He said and she nodded her head as a light blush spread over his cheeks.

"You think I'm pretty huh?" She asked with a smirk.

"Ah Rose Tyler, you know I do," he said with a matching smirk and she almost choked on her tea. He didn't seem to even notice he'd said her full name. Now it was her turn to blush and she smiled.

"Thanks," she said softly before she sipped her tea. "I got it on my travels abroad." She said with a smirk and he nodded his head. Sitting here with him in his flat felt incredibly intimate. A few inches to the right and she could be cuddled into his side.

"So um... there's this little Italian place about two blocks from here, if you like pasta," he finished and she smiled. He was so sweet, but it was very unlike her Doctor. He was never bumbling; he was direct, decisive and knew what he wanted.

"I like Italian," she assured him with a nod and his smile broadened. Her belly gurgled and she chuckled as she realized the last time she ate was breakfast and that was only a piece of toast and tea.

"Alright, time to feed the human," he said standing up and reaching down for her hand. She wasn't sure if it was just being around her or something else that was making so much of the Doctor bleed through, but he didn't even seem to be aware of it.

~*~One~*~

Rose sat across from Jason as she looked over the menu. She chewed her lip and desperately wished that the TARDIS translation matrix was working, because he'd failed to mention that when he said Italian he meant very Italian, as in the menu was not in English. He had a sheepish look on his face when she looked over the menu at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry," he said finally. "I forgot it was in Italian." He set his menu down and she did as well. "Is there anything you don't like?"

"Snails," she said and he chuckled and nodded his head. "And I'm not a big fan of veal."

"Okay, I can work with that." He said as he raised his hand and their waiter headed over. He spoke in rapid Italian to their waiter who nodded and wrote as Jason spoke. "Grazie," Jason said and the waiter smiled and walked away and Rose smiled.

"So you speak perfect Italian," she observed with a smirk.

"And Spanish and French, and I can get by with my Greek and Japanese," he said with a proud smile. God he looked so much like the Doctor with that look on his face and it made her ache a little.

"You think you're so impressive," she told him with a smile, her tongue tucked into the corner of her mouth.

"I am so impressive," he said with a wink and Rose nodded. She had to bite her cheek to keep herself from crying as the memories hit her.

"So," she said when she was sure she wouldn't cry. "What are we eating?"

"Well, this is the most authentic Italian food you can get outside of Italy, at least that I've found, so I ordered a few different things." Their waiter came back over with a bottle of wine and Rose smiled. "I also got a bottle of wine, I hope that's okay?"

"Course," she said nodding her head as the waiter opened it and poured them both a glass. She picked up her glass and he reached over and put his hand on hers.

"Bad luck to drink a new bottle of wine without a toast," he told her with a smile.

"Ah, what should we toast to then?" She asked wondering if that was true. She could ask Ianto, she bet he'd know something like that.

"Taking chances?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes and Rose took a deep breath. She knew the Doctor could be charming, she'd seen him do it time and again across time and space, but he'd always held back with her. He'd flirt, but never too much, and he could be charming, but never in a blatant way. She was unused to having his full force charm aimed at her and she found herself a bit dazzled.

"Okay," she said nodding her head. She knew that keeping herself detached from him was never going to work. She could already feel herself falling for him, even though she knew she shouldn't, just like her first Doctor. She lifted her glass and met his eyes. "To taking chances."

"To taking chances," he repeated and they clinked their glasses together.

~*~Two~*~

"So then he looks down and he realizes that he's completely naked!" Rose finished and they both laughed as they shared a piece of Tiramisu.

"Your brother sounds like quite the character." Jason said and she nodded her head. She was on her third glass of wine, it had been a while since she'd had anything to drink and she was feeling a bit more then buzzed.

"He really is," she agreed nodding her head still chuckling a little. "Jack is the best, he looks out for me." Their hands were clasped across the table and he'd started rubbing small circles over her hand about an hour ago. It was sending tingles down her spine.

"Well, good thing I've been the perfect gentlemen," he said with a wink and Rose nodded her head. Rose looked down at her watch and winced. It was almost 9:30; they'd been sitting here for more than four hours. Rose was surprised their waiter wasn't shooting daggers at them.

"Speaking of Jack I really should get home," she said with a regretful look. "He's going to wonder where I am and my phone died an hour ago." He chuckled and pulled his phone from his pocket and offered it to her. "Yeah, that would work, if I knew his number." She said sheepishly and he laughed outright now.

"Sorry," he said snapping his mouth closed and Rose could tell that he was a bit more then tipsy as well.

"It's okay," she said as he put his phone away. "We just got knew phone numbers when we got here, and I haven't committed them to memory yet."

"Your shirt is still back at my flat," he told her and she nodded. She couldn't tell if he was trying to get her to come back to his flat or just reminding her. She knew the Doctor would never try to get a woman back to his flat this way, but she needed to remember that this wasn't quite the Doctor and proceed accordingly.

"And I'm sure you'll want your shirt back," she said and saw his eyes flick down to her chest and back again. She had to stop herself from swallowing hard at the look in his eyes now.

"Do you have plans tomorrow?" He asked and she shook her head. He watched as she chewed on her lower lip and wondered if she knew she was doing it, or that it was driving him crazy. "There's this end of summer music festival, there are food vendors and craft booths."

"That sounds wonderful," she said nodding her head. "I'll bring your shirt back and I can grab mine. What time should we meet?"

"Everything starts around noon." He said and she smiled again, her tongue tucked into the corner of her mouth.

"Okay, I'll meet you at your flat at noon then," she said and he nodded his head. He waved the waiter over again and they spoke in Italian and then the waiter walked off. She figured he had to be getting their bill and Rose reached for her bag.

"Let me," he saw the look on her face and squeezed her hand gently. "Please?"

"Okay," she agreed picking up the fork and taking the last bite of dessert. "Dinner was great. Best Italian I've ever had."

"Told you," he said with a smirk and she laughed. He loved the way she laughed; it lit up her face and almost seemed to make her sparkle. He wanted to hear it more, forever. Wow, he thought as he blinked in surprise at that thought. The waiter came back with the bill and he paid then he stood and helped Rose to her feet. "I had them call you a cab, should be here soon."

"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow then," she said and started playing with the hem on the sleeve of her shirt as he looked down at her.

"I'd really like to kiss you goodnight," he said softly and Rose shivered at the husky tone to his voice before she nodded her head once. He reached up and brushed a stray hair out her face trailing his finger down her cheek before he cupped her jaw and leaned down and kissed her. It was very chaste, his thumb rubbing the apple of her cheek. Then Rose reached up and ran her hand through his hair and his free hand settled on her hip and he pulled her a little closer. Then suddenly it was no longer chaste as he deepened the kiss and Rose moaned lightly and his fingers dug into her hip just a little. Rose reached up with her free hand and wrapped it around his shoulder. There was a small voice in her head telling her to remember this wasn't quite the Doctor kissing her, it was Jason, but she couldn't find it in her to listen.

"Oi! Love birds!" A rough cockney accented voice said and they pulled apart, both breathing heavily. "One of you call a cab?"

"That's you then," he said and she was surprised by the fire in his eyes and the satisfied smile on his face. Oh she was in trouble.

"Aha" she said dumbly and he was delighted by the blush that was rising up her cheeks. "I mean, yes," she said pulling reluctantly away from him. "That's me," she said turning towards to the cab. He grabbed her hand and she turned to look at him. He seemed about ready to say something then stopped himself and smiled at her.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Jason asked and she stepped back over to him and kissed his lips once, pulling away quickly.

"Definitely," she said and he nodded and let go of her hand. She turned and got into the cab before she could change her mind. She told the cabby the address and turned and smiled at Jason again with a little wave.

"First date?" The cabby asked with a smile and she sighed and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I guess it was," She said and he chuckled.

~*~Three~*~

Rose walked into the hub and was happy to see it was empty. Ianto and Gwen must have gone home already. And seeing as it was almost 10:30 she shouldn't be surprised. She walked back to the kitchen and started a cup of tea. She needed to call Mickey tomorrow and update him on everything, well, maybe not everything. She smiled to herself as she picked up her tea and held it close to her chest.

"Well where have you been young lady?" She almost jumped at Jack's voice and turned towards the door. He was leaning against the door jam, his legs crossed at the ankle and his arms crossed over his chest with a smirk on his face. She wondered if that was something he'd picked up from her first Doctor because that was who it reminded her of.

"Would you believe I was gathering intel?" She asked and Jack chuckled as color rose to her cheeks.

"Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" He asked and Rose laughed. His face turned serious after a moment. "He's not the Doctor you know, not yet."

"I know," she said nodding her head.

"I just...don't want you to get hurt," he told her and Rose nodded her head.

"I know," she repeated and Jack nodded his head then pushed away from the door and walked into the kitchen.

"Well, tell me all about your day then." He said with a smile on his face again. She sat with him at the little table and told him all about her day.

~*~Four~*~

Jason thought about her all the way home. He couldn't get over how right it felt to hold her. He'd never met anyone who sparked this kind of feeling in him before. And the way she smiled at him, it made him feel like she was smiling just for him. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. He wasn't sure it was wise getting involved with someone who went to the university that he taught at, but he already knew he couldn't walk away from her. His lips still felt tingly from their kiss. He wanted to kiss her again. When she'd turned towards the cab and he'd grabbed her hand he'd almost asked her not to go. He'd never been the kind of guy to ask a woman back to his place, especially after one date, but he'd almost asked her too. He got the feeling she wasn't ready for that though, and he didn't want to push her.

Letting go of her hand so she could get into that cab had taken every ounce of his will power. Watching her ride away in the cab had almost hurt and that was odd. He'd only just met her and yet he felt like he'd known her forever. He stepped into his building and strode over to the lift. He couldn't wait to see her again tomorrow, there was an almost physical ache at the thought that she might not show up.

He unlocked his door and told himself he was being silly. She'd be there; she'd said she would be there. He flipped on the lights near the door and then his eyes popped wide.

It looked as though a tornado had gone through the living room. His couch was torn to shreds, books had been pulled off shelves and the drawers in the coffee table were all pulled open. He stepped towards the kitchen; it looked the same in there. All the drawers were pulled open, the cupboards open and everything rifled through. Weirdly enough it didn't look like anything was missing from what he could see.

"Well shit," he said with a sigh as he pulled out his mobile to phone the police.

A/N- Well I hope you like it so far! Can't wait to hear from the readers!


	4. Chapter Four The Storm

Chapter Four~*~ The Storm

"Rose really though do you think this is a good idea?" Mickey asked as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She met his eyes in the mirror and cursed Jack for calling him this morning and telling him everything that had happened.

"Mickey I'm a full grown adult, I think I can handle this," she said as she picked up earrings and put them in.

"And if he goes back to being the Doctor, pushing you away and keeping you at arm's length?" Mickey asked bluntly and Rose sighed.

"Then I'll deal with it." She said and Mickey almost growled as she turned to look at him. "I can't help this Mickey. I need to help him and in order to do that I need to be close to him." She walked past him to pick up her bag. "If he'd shown no interest in me I'd have tried to be his friend, but he did. If I get my heart broken in the process, well, that's nothing new." She said flippantly and Mickey sighed.

"I'm just trying to look out for you babe," Mickey said and Rose smiled at him then leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Well then you can help Jack look into this Professor Andrews while I'm gone," she told him with a smile as she stepped back. "How do I look?"

"Sexy, in a sweet way," Jack said from the doorway and Rose rolled her eyes with a smile. "You keep your eyes open Rosie, we don't know yet what's going on or why he did this."

"I know," Rose said nodding her head. She pulled her bag over her shoulder and smiled at them. "Geez, you guys look like I'm going off to war."

"Just listen to Jack and be careful," Mickey said and Rose tried not to roll her eyes again.

"Thanks dad," Rose said as she walked to the door. "I'll be home by curfew, promise!" She called over her shoulder as she walked out.

"Just how bad do you think this is going to end up for her?" Mickey asked as she walked out the huge rolling door of the hub.

"I don't know," Jack said shaking his head. "I really hope the Doctor has learned from his mistakes, but I doubt it."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Mickey said with a shake of his head.

"Well, you heard her, help me invade the privacy of a snobby bitch," Jack said with a bright smile.

"Right," Mickey agreed following him out towards the computers.

~*~One~*~

Rose stepped out of the cab and smoothed her hands down the summer dress she wore, it was a halter top and the skirt was so twirly it made her smile. She didn't wear dresses a lot, dresses aren't really conducive to running, but she figured she'd be safe in one today. She pushed into his building and passed a cop as he was leaving. She walked over to the lift and pushed the button. She tried not to think about what Mickey had said. She knew there was probably a high probability she was going to get hurt at the end of this. But she couldn't really help herself. She just hoped the Doctor wasn't mad after he was back to himself.

When she stepped off the lift she could see two more cops towards the end of the hall and her heart skipped a beat. They looked like they were standing just outside Jason's flat. She picked up speed as pictures of him hurt or worst flashed through her mind. When she got to the cops, one of them stepped in front of her.

"Ma'am" he said blocking her way.

"Jason!" She yelled looking into his flat. It was a disaster, his books thrown all over the floor.

"Rose," he stepped in front of the door and her heart thudded in her chest. The cop let her go when Jason said her name and she shot towards him. He caught her in a hug and she gripped his shirt in her hands.

"Oh God, I saw the police and..." she trailed off as a few tears slid down her cheeks.

"I'm okay," he said holding her to his chest. "Just some kids, vandals, they broke in and tore the place apart last night while we were out." She nodded, her face buried in the crook of his neck. He rubbed her back and was a little surprised by the intensity of her emotions. He had wanted to tell her what happened, but realized they never exchanged numbers, so he'd had no way to warn her. He was guiltily encouraged by her display though; it seemed to say that her feelings were already as strong as his.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she said pulling away and wiping at her eyes. "Sorry, I just... lost it when I saw the police." She swallowed hard. "Did they catch them?"

"No," he said shaking his head, his arms still wrapped around her.

"Oh, you said kids, I just assumed they must have caught them," She told him and he smiled at her.

"No, there's just nothing much missing, I just figured it had to be kids," he explained and Rose nodded her head.

"What's missing?" She asked pulling out of his arms, but she kept hold of his hand.

"Just a few knickknacks, my journal for some reason," he said with a shrug.

"They took your journal?" Rose asked tilting her head a little to the side. "Why would they take that?" She asked and he cleared his throat and shifted from foot to foot.

"No idea, it's just a silly journal that I write a few ideas in, short stories and the like." He said pulling her gently towards the kitchen. "Let me make you a cup of tea before we go."

"Oh Jason, you have a bit much going on now." Rose said following him into the kitchen. "We don't have to go out today."

"Nonsense, course we are," he said looking at her like she was daft; oh boy that was a familiar look. "They're almost done here, yeah?" He said the last part to the cop closest to them. He looked over and nodded his head.

"Sure are Mr. Noble," he said with a nod. "We'll be out of your hair in another few minutes."

"See," he said turning to smile at Rose as he went about making tea and she sat at a high-top chair at the little island in his kitchen, crossing her feet at the ankle. "I think I could really use some music and food, take my mind off things yeah?"

"All right," Rose said nodding her head. She took the cup when he handed it over to her and she took a sip. She looked up into his face and sighed. She hated it, but part of her couldn't help thinking about what Mickey had said. She knew she'd been flippant with him about getting her heart broken again, because truthfully she wasn't sure she could take it if the Doctor didn't want her after all this. She knew he loved her, or had, but who knew how long it had been for him since she'd been gone? Was she really going to be able to handle it if after she brought him back he just wanted her along as a friend again, or worse, didn't want her along at all?

"Wow," Jason said and she realized she'd been staring at him and she blushed. "Those are some heavy thoughts," he said and her eyes went wide. The look on her face had been so intense, but after a moment he'd gotten the feeling she wasn't really looking at him, but at something he couldn't really see.

"Sorry," she said taking another sip. "Just worrying about you," she said, which wasn't technically a lie.

"I'm fine, really," He said taking a step around the counter so he was standing in front of her.

"All done here," the cop said and Jason looked over at him. "If you have any questions about your case, or find anything else is missing call the station and give them your case number." He told him with a smile and a nod.

"Right, thank you," he said as both officers left, pulling the flat door closed behind them. Jason turned back to her and stepped in front of her. He reached out and pushed a stray hair out of her face. Then he used his thumb to wipe a single tear off her cheek. "You look beautiful," he told her and she smiled. She looked him over and noticed he was still wearing the same thing he'd had on last night and smirked. He chuckled after looking down at himself.

"Yeah, I fell asleep in my clothing last night after dealing with the police the first time; they were here till nearly midnight." He told her and she smiled at him as she set her tea down. "Then they showed up again just as I was about to start getting ready."

"I don't mind if you wanna change before we go," she said with a smile, her tongue tucked into the corner of her mouth. And suddenly he was kissing her, leaning her back just a little in the high-top chair, one hand on her back, keeping her from toppling over backwards and the other on her thigh. Her hands flew up to his shoulders, holding on to his shirt trying to keep herself from falling as well. One hand reached up and she ran her fingers through his hair, gripping it a bit hard when he shifted them and she almost lost her balance and he growled, deep in the back of his throat and his tongue darted out, running along the edge of her bottom lip, seeking permission to deepen the kiss and Rose opened her mouth, moaning when he deepened the kiss. His hand slid up her leg a little and she wanted nothing more than to let him continue. She knew how easy it would be to wrap her legs around his hips and let him carry her to his room. But there was still a small rational part of her mind working that allowed her to pull away just a little, breaking the kiss. He just stared at her for a moment, breathing hard, his eyes were dark pools of want and Rose swallowed hard. He blinked twice, closing his eyes for a long few seconds both times, and when he opened them the second time he seemed to have calmed himself down a bit. She pulled her hand from his shirt and placed it on his chest and smiled at him.

"There's something about you," he murmured after a few long moments, almost like he wasn't really talking to her. "I feel like..." he trailed off as he starred at her. He leaned in again, but this time he just nuzzled into her neck, his arms going back around her waist as he took a deep breath. Rose was pretty sure she could sit here with him forever, but she didn't think he could be all the comfortable, leaning over her like that. He took another deep breath then pulled away, a deep blush on his face now.

"Sorry," he said as he pulled himself up to his full height. Rose stood up and reached out and took his hand.

"Nothing to apologize for," she said with a flirty smile and a wink. "You go get ready yeah? I'll wait out here for you."

"Right, yes, ready, I'll just go get...dressed." he said nodding his head. Then he smiled, it was a very confident smile, "I hope you don't mind, but I think I'm going to be doing that a lot."

"Apologizing?" Rose asked before she smiled knowing that wasn't what he meant, her tongue tucked into the corner of her mouth.

"No, kissing you." He said with a wink before he let her hand go and turned to head back to his room.

"Jason," she said when he got to his door. He turned and looked at her and she bit her bottom lip before she spoke. "I don't mind." She told him and he smiled widely before he opened his door and walked into his room.

"Shit, shit shit," Rose muttered almost silently after his door was shut. It would be so easy, so easy to let things get out of hand. She knew he wanted her, knew she wanted him too. But she could not let things go that far, not with him not himself. It would be an unforgivable betrayal. When, _if_ they ever got to that point she wanted it to be her in her right mind and he in his, completely the Doctor again.

~*~Two~*~

Jason leaned against the door silently after he closed it. He didn't understand what the hell was going on with him. He'd never in his life felt as attracted to someone as he did with Rose, never felt such a strong pull. He felt like he knew her, had known her for years. He stepped away from the door and looked around the mess his room was and sighed. He still didn't have any idea why someone would take his journal of all things. He looked over his shoulder at the door as though he could see Rose through it. His journal had been full of stories, dreams really, and he could almost swear that he'd dreamed of her. But in his dreams she was Rose Tyler and she was lost to him. Of course in his dreams he also imagined he was an alien with two hearts that traveled through time and space, so they probably weren't the most reliable.

He walked back into his bathroom and looked around, everything was a mess. The curtain of his shower was in a heap on the floor, and he desperately wanted to take a shower.

"Screw the sodding floor," He muttered as he turned on the water and stripped off his clothing before he flipped the switch to turn on the sprayer. He scrubbed and washed quickly; hoping Rose wasn't too bored out there in his ruined living room. He dried off and ran his hands through his hair and then it flopped to the left. Maybe it was time for a more grown up hair style, but he'd always loved his hair a bit on the long side. And the way Rose had run her hands through it, gripping it, pulling in a way that should have been painful but had the exact opposite effect on him. No, he'd leave it long, he wanted, needed to feel that again. He squeezed mousse into his palm and worked it through his hair then decided to let it dry naturally. He wrapped the towel around his hips and walked into his room and sighed again.

His clothing was tossed all over his room, his drawers and closet empty. He stepped through the mess, searching for a shirt, pants and jeans. He came across a pair of dark, almost black jeans and smiled picking them up. He rejected the first shirt he came across, it was a plain white shirt and he did not want to give off a James Dean look, especially since the dress Rose had shown up in gave off a 50's vibe. He finally found a light blue short sleeved button up that wasn't too wrinkled. All his pants and socks were in a big pile next to his dresser. He dressed quickly, almost toppling over twice in his rush to get dressed. He located his black peacoat and threw it on. He didn't really think he'd need it, but if they were out late enough to watch the fireworks tonight Rose might.

"Okay I'm rea-" he stopped mid word as he looked around his living room. It had been picked up, his books all back on the shelves, his very few knickknacks back on the table by his couch. He took a few steps into the room and could see the kitchen had been set a bit right too. Rose was leaning against the little kitchen island, a cup of tea in her hands.

"Sorry, I hope you don't mind, but I got a bit bored." Rose said looking around the living room.

"I don't, but you didn't have...to..." he trailed off as she lifted a single eyebrow. "Thank you." He said instead and her answering smile made his heart skip a beat.

"You've got a bit of a sophisticated James Dean thing going on," Rose said stepping away from the island and he looked down at himself and chuckled. Well so much for not looking like him. "It's a good look on you." She told him and he felt himself blush a little. She stepped up to him and fingered the lapel on the coat and he wondered if she knew she was chewing on her lip again or had any idea what it did to him when she did. He cleared his throat and Rose looked up at him and smiled before she stepped away and held out her hand.

"Ready?" She asked and he reached out and took her hand. He wasn't sure he was ready, but ready or not he was pretty sure he was falling in love with a woman he'd known two days.

~*~Three~*~

"I still can't believe all they took was your journal," Rose said as they wandered around the different vendors. They both had a scoop of ice-cream from one of the many food trucks.

"Yeah that and a few knickknacks, a pair of cuff links I bought just after I started at the university and my father's old pocket watch. It was broken, but still, I don't have much of his." Rose's stomach plummeted at his words and she had to force her face not to show her reaction to his words.

"I'm..." she trailed off, her voice sounding slightly harsh to her ears. "I'm sorry." She said after a moment. Shit! She thought when he smiled at her.

"It's okay; perhaps they'll catch whoever did it if they try to pawn the watch." He said and Rose nodded, though she had a sneaking suspicion that no one was going to try and pawn that watch. Someone was definitely after the Doctor, and they knew that Jason Noble was him. She needed to call Jack; she couldn't believe it hadn't been her first thought.

"Are there bathrooms around somewhere?" Rose asked looking up at him with a smile. He nodded his head and pointed. Towards the back of the park, where the play equipment was, there was a brick building with a bathroom sign on it.

"Want me to hold your ice cream?" He asked and Rose nodded her head before she handed it over.

"No eating it," she teased and he smirked at her.

"Ick, only weirdos like plain chocolate ice-cream," he teased and Rose laughed despite her unease.

"Says the guy who wanted banana ice cream and pouted when they didn't have any," she teased right back. She could almost hear his retort in her head '_Time Lords do not pout Rose Tyler._' But he just stuck out his lower lip and pulled off a very sexy pouty face.

"Go on, promise I won't eat any of your ice cream," he said and she turned and headed towards the bathroom. She was thankful the doors were on the side facing away from all the festivities. She pulled out her phone and dialed Jack's number then peeked around the building; she could just see Jason a short ways across the park, looking a bit silly with both ice creams.

~*~Four~*~

"Harkness," Jack said when he picked up his phone.

"Jack, we have a problem," She said and he could hear laughter in the background.

"Rosie, what's wrong?" He asked, frightened by the tone in her voice.

"Someone broke into Jason's flat yesterday while we were out. I'm almost positive they stole the watch." The words came out in a long fast stream and Jack took a deep breath.

"Okay, calm down, are you sure this wasn't just a random-

"Jack, what are the odds of that?" Rose cut him off, her voice a little harsh, which he knew meant she was scared.

"Not high," he said with a sigh. "We did some research into your friend Professor Andrews; she didn't exist until a month ago."

"Shit! I knew there was something off about her," Rose ground out kicking at the dirt in front of her. What- excuse me!" She yelled and Jack could hear movement then a high picked yelp. "Get your hands off me!" She yelled.

"Rose?" Jack cried into the phone.

"Jack!" He heard her yell then what sounded like her phone being dropped. "Jason!" He heard her scream, even farther away now. He was on his feet and running as he listened.

"Rose!" He just barely heard the man's voice on the other end then the line went dead.

"Ianto, Gwen, Mickey someone took Rose, she was on the phone with me," Jack said as they all jumped to their feet. Martha came out of the small kitchen area with a cup of tea.

"Well go you idiots," she said and they nodded, Mickey kissed her cheek as they all headed towards the door. "Bring her back yeah? The Doctor, when we get him back, would never forgive himself if something happens to her."

"I know," Mickey said nodding his head before he followed everyone else out. They were all climbing into the SUV when Jacks cell began to ring and the caller ID said 'Rosie.'

"Rose?!" He asked when he picked up the phone.

"No, it's Jason, I don't know if Rose has told you about me but I wasn't sure who else to call. Someone took her, two big guys, they just, they just disappeared, right in the middle of the park." He said this all in one long stream of words and Jack could hear the worry in them. "What the hell is going on?"

"Where are you?" Jack demanded as Ianto started the car.

"Victoria Park, they have an annual end of summer music festival," He said his voice devoid of emotion now. "Someone grabbed her and disappeared into thin air!" He said sounding confused and angry. He pulled the phone away and told Ianto where to go and he nodded his head.

"Jason I need you to listen to me okay, stay where you are, my team and I are on our way." Jack told him in a commanding voice.

"Jack, I can't lose her again," He almost whispered and Jack was floored. Rose was right, the Doctor was leaking through a lot.

"What do you mean 'again?'" Jack asked flipping the lights on so they flashed and traffic moved out of their way.

"I don't know!" He shouted into the phone and Jack nodded, boy he could hear the Doctor now. "I don't know anything that's going on but you need to get here, now!"

"We're on our way I swear, you know how important Rose is to me, she's told you. Believe me when I tell you I'll do everything in my power to keep her safe. Do you believe me?"

"Yes," Jason told him in a harsh voice.

"Good, we'll be there soon," Jack said and then Jason hung up the phone.

~*~Five~*~

Rose rubbed her head as she flopped down onto the small bed in the small room she was locked in. One of the brutes that had grabbed her had smacked her when she tried to fight him off. She wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure Professor Andrews was behind this. She opened her bag and made sure she still had the sonic screwdriver. Bad guys were so ignorant, never thought to search a woman's bag. She shivered and pulled out Jason's shirt, she had forgotten to give it back to him in all the craziness. She pulled it on over her dress and sighed as she snapped her bag closed. Her head jerked up when she heard the locks on the door snap open and the door swung inwards.

"Rose Tyler," Professor Andrews said as she stepped into the room. Rose tried not to show her surprise that this woman knew who she was. "Fancy meeting you here," she said as she stepped into the room.

"Who?" She said sitting back with her best 'dumb blonde' look. "The name's Harkness."

"Don't insult me, I know who you are, former companion of the Doctor. Though you were trapped across the void, somehow you've come back." She said as she walked over and folded herself elegantly into the chair across from Rose.

"What do you want from me Professor Andrews?" She asked trying her best to look bored. She'd been in tighter spots then this; she knew she could figure out how to get out of this.

"Oh it's just us girls, please call me Marla," she said with a nasty smile as she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled something out. "I imagine you've been looking for this?" She said holding up the watch.

"What do you want with that?" Rose asked leaning forward now, glaring at her.

"I'm going to use it to destroy your wonderful Doctor," she said with a smirk. "He'll come, even not knowing who he is he'll come for you. Then he'll know; I'll let him remember, just in time to see me crush you. Then, when his hearts are breaking, I'll take his life." Rose held back her eye roll. Man, bad guys just couldn't wait to spill their plans at your feet when they think they've got you beat.

"And if he doesn't come?" Rose asked tilting her head. "As far as he knows I'm just some girl he met yesterday. Why would he come for me?"

"He'll come." She said standing and pulling something from her pocket. "Because he'll always come when you call," She said as she pushed a button on the little device and Rose's eyes slammed shut and she screamed as pain burned through her veins, her body arched as the torment continued.

"Say it," she demanded as Rose slammed her mouth shut, cutting off the scream. She pulled her eyes open, the effort immense and glared at Marla, though it wasn't very strong, since it was taking everything in her to keep from screaming.

"Say it," she said pushing another button and the pain doubled. Her whole body began to tremble from the pain and the effort to keep her mouth shut. "Say. It!" She commanded pushing another button and Rose couldn't keep her mouth shut anymore as a pained word was wrenched from her throat before her eyes fluttered closed and she passed out.

~*~Six~*~

"Jason," Jack called as they all ran across the park towards him. His head snapped up and Jack recognized the look on his face, it was the Oncoming Storm, even if he didn't know it.

"Tell me how we're going to find her," Jason said as they all stopped in front of him. His eyes scanned the faces, lingering for a moment on Mickey then he looked at Jack.

"She has your sonic screwdriver on her, we should be able to track it, hopefully she'll still have it on or near her," Jack said and Jason shook his head.

"My sonic... what? What are you talking about?" He asked and Jack took a deep breath then opened his mouth to speak when Rose's mobile beeped. Jason looked down at it in his hand. It was a text from an unknown number.

_She's waiting for you. I'm sure your Captain Jack knows how to find her. Come get her._

"There's an attachment," he said his voice shaking just a little. He clicked on it and a video popped up on the screen.

"_Say it," A __woman__ said and he was shocked to see it was Professor Andrews. Rose was sitting on a bed, her back ridged, her face screwed up in pain, her lips held between her teeth. Professor Andrews pushed a button on whatever she was holding in her hand and Rose started to tremble. "Say. It!" Professor Andrews yelled and finally Rose opened her mouth and screamed._

"_DOCTOR!" The word seemed to be ripped from her throat before her eyes slid shut and her body crumpled to the bed. Professor Andrews turned towards where the camera was and waved. _

"_See you soon," __she__ told him before the video ended._

Jason didn't realize he was trembling till the phone began to shake in his hands. He looked up at Jack his eyes blazing and Jack almost took an involuntary step back.

"That's me," Jason said quietly looking from Jack to the others then back to Jack. "But I don't remember." He said it as fact not a question and Jack nodded his head. "Why?"

"We're not sure; we know how to fix it though, that was what Rose was-

"She was acting? Trying to get close to me?" Jason asked the hurt plain in his voice and Jack shook his head.

"No, Rose loves you, more then you will probably ever know." Jack said and Jason nodded his head. "Have you found her yet Ianto?" Jack asked over his shoulder at the tall man standing behind him.

"Almost Jack," Ianto said and Jason was working on controlling his breathing.

"So it's a trap then?" Jason asked and Jack nodded his head.

"Most definitely," Jack said and Jason ran his hands through his hair.

"I've got her sir," Ianto said and Jack nodded.

"Well let's go then," Jason said striding towards the SUV they had all piled out of.

A/N- Okay good readers, one maybe two chapters of this left. Hope to hear from you guys! Enjoy!


	5. Chapter Five Coming Home

Chapter Five~*~ Coming Home

"Tell me about this Doctor," Jason said as they drove. He needed to not think about Rose being alone with what was obviously a crazy sociopath. He could still see her when he closed his eyes, back rigid, hands clamped on the sheet, mouth slammed closed until a scream was ripped from her throat.

"Okay," Jack said as Ianto drove. They were at least an hour away from where Rose was being held, and he needed a distraction as much as Jason probably did. He wasn't sure if he should talk about the Doctor as if he was someone else or use personal pronouns. "Well, first and foremost, the Doctor is a good man. Though 'man' may not be the right word, since he's an alien. He's the last of his species, he looks human, but he's a bit different. He has two hearts and..." he trailed off at the shocked look on Jason's face. Jason swallowed and shook his head and held up his hand. All of his dreams, they were memories, the TARDIS, Rose, they weren't just dreams.

"Go on," Jason finally said and Jack nodded. Jack could see that Gwen was listening almost as avidly as Jason was.

"He travels in a fantastic time machine called the TARDIS. She's a sentient ship, its stands for-

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space," Jason murmured cutting him off and Jack smiled. Jason closed his eyes for a moment, and he could see the blue door of the ship swinging inward, welcoming him back. He blinked a few times as he sat back in his seat. He was next to the door with Gwen in the seat across from him and Mickey sitting in the very back.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked and Jason took a deep breath then ran his hands through his hair again.

"I'm fine, keep going." He said his voice full of impatience.

"Well from time to time he travels with people, and a number of years ago he saved Roses life and she went off with him, to travel in time and space." Jack said thinking about what could be happening to Rose right at that moment. He hated that they didn't have any kind of transmat beams yet. Going the long way was making his stomach clench in fear.

"But she got trapped," Jason said feeling dizzy, as though he'd been hit over the head. He strained to pull memories from somewhere, but they were elusive and he couldn't find them. All he could remember were the small snippets from his dreams and even those faded if he didn't write them down in his journal. He growled and slammed his hand on the dashboard making everyone in the car jump just a little. "Why can't I remember?!" He demanded looking at Jack.

"Well, for some reason the Doctor used something called the chameleon arch, which rewrote his biology turning him human, turning him into-

"Me," Jason said nodding his head.

"Yes," Jack said nodding his head. "There's a pocket watch that has all your biological information stored in it. Rose is pretty sure this Professor Andrews stole it from your flat. When you open it you'll regain everything, you'll become the Doctor again."

"My dad's watch," Jason said nodding his head. Though if he was who Jack said he was, his memories of his father were fake, there never was anyone named Steven Noble who read his young son to sleep every night. "And what happens to Jason Noble?" he asked looking up at Jack his eyes probing. It was a look Jack was familiar with, even if he'd never seen it in green eyes before.

"I don't know," Jack said shaking his head.

~*~One~*~

Rose came awake very abruptly, a scream still trapped in her throat as she bolted up in bed. Her whole body ached, everywhere, and she lay back down gingerly. She saw that her bag was still in the room with her, she reached out slowly, clenching her teeth as she did. It wouldn't do to groan and give Marla the satisfaction of hearing how much pain she was in. She pulled her bag over to her and opened it. Well she still had the sonic, which was good news. All though she was pretty sure Jack was probably tracing it, which had to be part of the trap.

She began to stretch her muscles slowly, working the stiffness out. She wouldn't be any good if they showed up and she couldn't move. She bit the inside of her cheek when she rolled her shoulders, a sharp pain shooting through her, to keep from crying out in pain. Finally she sat up slowly and swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood. She looked around the room a bit closer now.

_Rose,_ she shifted around too fast and sucked in a sharp breath at the pain. _Soon Rose._ She saw the watch sitting on the chair Marla had sat in. She must have left it here on purpose, right? So, the watch was speaking to her, that was a little weird, but none of this was normal, well it was a bit normal for her. And the watch had done it before she remembered, in Jason's room. She just hadn't known at the time it was the watch. She reached over and picked it up off the chair and felt a rush of hope, anger, excitement, happiness and pride pour off the watch. She saw a flash of the Doctor, this Doctor; his face in a quirky smile, his thumbs pulling his suspenders away from his chest just a little before he turned and walked towards the console.

"Wow," she whispered running her thumb over the watch.

~*~Two~*~

"This Doctor, he traveled with Rose, for years you said." Jason said as they neared where Rose was. He'd been silent since he asked about what would happen to Jason Noble.

"Yes," Jack said nodding his head. "When he lost her, it nearly killed him."

"So he loves her, like I do?" Jason asked and Jack took a deep breath. He didn't quite know how to tackle that question. He had long suspected that the Doctor loved Rose, but he knew he'd never done anything about it.

"I think he does yes," Jack said finally and Jason frowned. That isn't good enough; he wanted to scream at them. How was he expected to become this... this Doctor if he didn't love Rose like he did?

"I think so too," Mickey agreed and Jason looked back at him. He looked a bit familiar, but he wasn't sure why.

"But you don't know? They weren't together? He never told her?" Jason asked turning back to Jack sounding a little desperate now.

"No, he never did." Jack said shaking his head. "But I think a large part of what you're feeling right now, I think that's bleed through, from what he feels for her." Jack told him truthfully and Jason nodded.

"Okay folks, we're no more than ten minutes from the signal Rose is giving off, what's our plan?" Ianto asked and looking over to Jack.

"We find a way in and rescue Rose," Jack said and Ianto rolled his eyes. "We need to try and find a way in, it would be better to wait for nightfall-

"We're not leaving her in there with that psycho till nightfall!" Jason practically growled and Jack smirked at him and held his hands up in the 'I surrender' gesture.

"Course we're not," Jack said rolling his eyes. "Be better to wait for nightfall, but we don't have the time to spare." Jack said giving Jason a look and he nodded his head. "We should park about a mile out; see if we can't find a strategic entrance. Then we follow the signal, taking out anyone who gets in the way."

"You've got guns don't you, I hate guns," Jason said and Jack looked at him over his shoulder and tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Yes I understand they may be necessary, doesn't mean I like them."

"Right, we'll put the phasers on stun, would that make you feel better Spock?" Jack asked and now Jason rolled his eyes.

"We're about two miles out," Ianto said and Jack pulled something from a compartment by his feet. He held it over his shoulder, handing it to Jason.

"It's nonlethal," Jack told him and Jason held the weapon by the handle awkwardly. "Never shot a gun before have you?"

"I don't know, have I?!" Jason asked angrily taking ahold of the weapon properly. "Its fine, I'll figure it out."

"Just don't shoot us," Mickey mocked and Jason sent him a glare as well. Mickey held up his hands in surrender as Ianto pulled into a slightly forested area. It seemed to be a parking lot of some kind, with trailheads leading off into the woods.

"We're just outside Afan Forest Park," Ianto said as he parked the car. "The signal is coming from that way," he said pointing towards what looked like a slightly overgrown trail head.

"A deep forest, with a fortress at the end no doubt." Jason said looking at Jack as he scanned the empty parking lot. "Are all evil doers this trite?"

"Most of the ones I've come across," Jack said as he put a gun in a holster on his ankle, at his back and on his hip then added a knife in a sheath in his boot. He looked around as Mickey, Ianto and Gwen armed themselves similarly. He wasn't really sure what to do with the weapon he held, so he pulled his jacket back and put it in the waist of his pants, letting the coat fall back into place.

They walked for at least an hour, all of them scanning the woods as they went. The woods were thick, but not so much that they blocked any of the light. No one spoke as they walked and Jack kept looking at Jason. He had a worried look on his face and looked very out of place with them. He knew once he was the Doctor that would change, but as a human he was frightened and angry and letting it control him in a way the Doctor wouldn't, normally. But then again, this was Rose they were talking about and Jack didn't know what he might do when they got him back.

Jason scanned the trees as they walked. He kept expecting someone to open fire at them any moment. He knew he loved Rose and hoped what Jack told him was true. That this Doctor really did love Rose. It scared him to think that when he opened that watch he'd lose everything he'd gained in such a short amount of time. He'd already started to think of Rose as his, had started thinking about a future with her. He'd looked forward to meeting her brother that she spoke so highly of.

"Are you even her brother?" Jason suddenly asked quietly as he came up next to Jack.

"I've always thought of Rose as a kid sister, but no, she's not really my sister." Jack said just as softly and Jason thought back to their time together how much had been true and how much had been her trying to figure him out? _What would you say if I told you I got it in an alien market in space?_ She hadn't been joking; she'd been probing to see if there was any of this Doctor in him. He took a deep breath and hoped that Jack was right about how she felt about him too.

"I see something," Mickey said and they all slowed as they came to the edge of the trees. There was what looked to be some kind of outpost, maybe an old rangers building. It was big, but probably didn't have many rooms, or many places to hide.

"Not much of a fortress," Jack whispered and Jason snorted quietly.

"I'm reading nine life signs," Ianto whispered and Jack nodded. Well nine, that wasn't too bad, they could handle nine easily, he knew at least his team was well trained. "There's a sentry at a side door on the left."

"In through the side?" Jack asked looking at Jason who shrugged.

"She knows we're coming," Jason said sounding resigned. "I'm pretty sure this is just the cat playing with the mouse before it eats it."

"Right, well might as well play our part as the mouse then," Jack said motioning Mickey, Ianto and Gwen to the left while he and Jason went right. Jason stepped to Jack's right and his foot stepped on a twig and the snap echoed through the woods and the guard turned to look towards the sound and then crumpled to the ground as Mickey fired at him.

"Come on," Jack said as they all hurried to the door. Jack rolled his eyes when he found it unlocked. "She could at least be trying." He complained. They hurried into what looked like it had been used as a mud room. Jack walked to the closed door and pulled his gun off his hip as he listened at the door. Gwen pulled her gun and placed herself on the wall next to the door. Jack eased it open, and Gwen went in low and Jack went in high, scanning the hallway it opened up into, with their guns in front of them.

They tried doors as they walked down the hall, clearing the open rooms as they went with Jason, Ianto and Mickey hanging back, watching their backs. Inside one of the room they took out two other guards, sleeping on the job and moved on. Jason pulled the weapon out from his waist band and held it at his side. After Jack had fired part of him wondered if he'd killed them or really had just stunned them. He was shocked to find he didn't really care, anyone who had a part in putting the agonizing look on Rose's face deserved whatever happened. Finally they came to a door with an old fashioned wooden slider lock. Well the Professor was a bit smarter than Jack had given her credit for; no metal locks meant the sonic screwdriver was mostly useless, at least at opening the door. He pulled the slide lock back and eased the door open and sighed in relief. Until he saw her sitting on the bed, eyes wide as she stared at the door, a small part of him had been afraid he'd come all this way to find her dead.

"Jack," She said keeping her voice low. Jason pushed past him and Rose got to her feet, a little shakily and with a small wince. "Jason," She said as he ran forward and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him. Jack looked at Ianto, Gwen and Mickey and made a circle in the air and looked up and down the hall. They all nodded and headed farther down the hall.

"Ow," she winced when he squeezed and he pulled back a worried look on his face. "I'm fine, just a little sore."

_Rose, now Rose,_ Rose jerked back a little with another wince. She bent down towards the bed and picked something up off it.

"I think I have something that belongs to you." She said holding it out to him. "I imagine just after you open it the room will be stormed by Marla and her men. But honestly I'm not sure what else to do." He looked down at the watch in her palm then looked back up and met her eyes.

"Do you love me, him? Will you still when I'm him again? Because I love you, me, _Jason Noble_, I love you. What if he doesn't?" He asked his voice shaky and Rose took a deep breath.

"I do, I will, forever," she said her voice choked up with tears. "I think he does, I hope he does, I believe in him, in you." He cupped the side of her face with one hand and clasped her hand, the one holding the watch, in the other, so the watch was trapped between their hands. He leaned down and kissed her, pouring everything he felt into the kiss as he pulled the watch from her hand and clicked it open.

Jack watched as the golden light wafted out of the watch, long wisps of golden smoke seemed to wrap around Jason as he continued to kiss Rose till his body seemed to arch back just a little and Rose pulled away with a gasp and he stumbled back a step. The light faded after no more than five seconds and Jason? The Doctor? Looked up and meet Rose's eyes.

"Rose Tyler you clever girl!" He said before he stepped up to her and kissed her again holding her face in his hands. He pulled away with a wet pop and Rose looked a little dazed.

"Doctor?" Rose whispered and he reached up and popped her on the nose.

"The one and only," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. For just a moment he stared at her, and then he reached up again as though he were going to tweak a bowtie and frowned. "Ah, no bowtie," he muttered then looked at Jack and smirked.

"We're waiting," he said drawing the words out a bit as he spun around towards the wall opposite them. It shimmered for a moment then seemed to disappear, Marla and five of her men standing there. The men were all holding guns on them and Marla was smiling at them, it was the closest to a real smile Rose had seen on her face. She was already convinced she'd won.

Rose stepped up next to the Doctor and grabbed his arm, sliding her hand down. He felt something cool and long hit his palm, hidden from view and knew she'd just slipped him his sonic screwdriver. He fiddled with the setting while he kept his eyes on Professor Andrews, only that wasn't who she was.

"Ah," he said nodding his head as he realized who she was. "You worked for the Time Agency, didn't you?" He said as it began to come back to him. "Marla," he said nodding when she looked a little bit surprised. He continued to try and find the right setting without looking at his sonic. "He died then?"

"Yes he died, while you swanned off on your ship never to be seen again," She bit out and he nodded his head.

"They wouldn't _let_ me help," He told her and Rose could hear the pain in those few words. She had no idea what they were talking about, but she knew he knew this Marla. "You'd both broken the laws of the Time Agency; it was out of my hands." He told her sadly and she nodded her head.

"Seems I've done it again," She said before she raised her gun and fired. Jack had seen the moment coming, had been watching her fingers twitch on the gun in her hand, and he jumped. The bullet tore through his throat and he tried to groan but it came out as an awful gurgling noise. Ah drowning in one's own blood was one of the worst ways to go.

"Jack!" Rose cried going down to her knees next to him. He'd taken the bullet for her. Her eyes filled with tears and she ran her hands through his hair. She could feel it as he died in her arms. She tried to tell herself he'd be fine, she'd seen him come back from Dalek fire; a stupid bullet wasn't going to stop him.

"He's only delayed the inevitable." Marla said shaking her head as she looked at the Doctor with a glare, her gun still pointed at them. "I think maybe the stomach, so you can watch her die, little by little." She said shifting the gun down towards Rose. Jack gasped loudly as he sat back up. Marla's eyes went wide and she lowered the gun just a little more. And in that instance two things happened at once. Jacks' team burst into the room from another door and the Doctor raised his arm, pushing a button on the sonic, the tip glowed a vibrant, bright green. Marla's men whipped around firing towards Jack's team then all at once they were crying out in pain and dropping their guns, Marla included, as if they had burned them, and knowing the Doctor they probably had.

Marla glared at him as she held out her other hand and looked him in the eyes and bushed a button. Rose's scream had him turning fast so he didn't see Gwen bash Marla in the back of the head. He scrambled over to her as her screaming stopped.

"Rose!" He said and he wrapped his arms around her and Jack scooted out of the way. She was breathing and groaned a little as her eyes fluttered open.

"Hurts," She muttered as her body shuttered. He picked her up and carried her to the bed on the far wall. Her eyes fell closed again as she passed out. He checked her pulse and breathing before kissing her forehead.

"Is she-

"She'll be okay," He said his voice hard as he wiped a piece of hair out of her face. He turned and walked over to where Marla was now collapsed on the ground. He bent over and picked up the small device she'd been using to torture Rose with. He scanned it with his sonic and nodded his head then he knelt down next to Marla. She groaned as she pushed herself up just a bit, rubbing at the back of her head.

"So, it's based on blood yeah?" He asked tossing the small device into the air and catching it easily. Mickey had never seen this look on the Doctor's face before, he was smiling, but it was a cold fury filled smile. He'd seen anger, but he'd never seen pure rage like this, it was all but pouring off of the Doctor. Mickey, Gwen and Ianto had all the men hogtied and were now just watching as the Doctor reached up and ran his finger over the side of Marla's head where Gwen had hit her with the butt of her gun, she winced and his smile curled into a nasty look. He pulled his finger away, the tip red, covered in her blood. He took a deep breath as he waited for Marla to meet his eyes before he pressed his finger down on the little receiver on the device.

"Soooooo I assume there are levels?" He asked, he could see the fear in her eyes now. She swallowed hard as the Doctor put his finger over the button.

"Doctor," Jack said his tone warning. The Doctor looked over his shoulder at him and Jack actually flinched. The Doctor looked back at Marla, his finger still hovering over the button. He leaned over, right down in her face. Part of him knew he was going too far, this was not like him, but then he could also still hear the echoes of Rose screaming his name in his head and felt like maybe it wasn't enough.

"Maybe you didn't listen close enough to the stories about me," he said his voice low and hard as steel. "Destroyer of Worlds isn't metaphorical." He pushed the button, for hardly more than a second, but it was still enough to rip a scream from her, even on the lowest level.

"No one comes after what I love." He said his eyes boring into hers and she nodded her head slowly. He dropped the device on the ground and then crushed it under the heel of his shoe. He looked down at her for one more second before he turned and walked over to where Rose was still laying on the bed. He sat down and took her hand in his, his face soft and worried now and Jack almost wondered if he'd imagined the whole thing.

He pulled himself to his feel and brushed at his shirt. He hated blood stains; they were a bitch to get out. He looked around at his team; all of them were staring at the Doctor, who was paying them no attention as he scanned Rose with his sonic screwdriver.

"Alright team; let's get this cleaned up shall we?" He said glaring down at Marla.

~*~Three~*~

Consciousness came to Rose slowly, and everything hurt, like every bone in her body had been broken, healed and then broken again in the space of a few minutes. She couldn't make herself remember what had happened, only that it hurt, everywhere. She could feel arms wrapped around her waist and realized she was sitting in someone's lap. She opened her eyes slowly and it was blessedly dark wherever she was. She could feel movement and wondered if she was in a car? She moaned as she shifted, trying to see who was holding her, but it was hard to see in the dark, or maybe she just couldn't make her eyes focus.

"Rose?" A soft voice said the arms around her shifting as she moved.

"Jason?" She said as a wave of dizziness hit her and she closed her eyes for a moment. She felt him stiffen a bit at the name and wondered why.

"Not anymore, I'm sorry," The voice said and suddenly everything came rushing back to her in an instant. The Doctor, the watch, being kidnapped, Marla and pain, lots of pain.

"Doctor!" She cried out shifting again to see him better. "Oh thank god," She cried as she lifted her arms, even though it felt like white hot needles were poking her as she did, and wrapped them around his neck. "What happened?" She asked even though she felt the darkness seeping into her mind again and knew she was going to pass out.

"Later Rose, rest now," He said kissing the top of her head softly and she tried to nod but didn't think she did before her eyes fluttered closed again. The Doctor sighed as he brushed the hair out of her face.

"I just want you to know," Jack said quietly from the front seat as he turned and looked at the Doctor, his face backlit from the dashboard of the car. "That if you hurt her I'll personally regenerate you," Jack said his voice rigid with feeling. The Doctor had no words for that so he just nodded his head.

"How did she get here?" He asked softly hating that she whimpered in pain when they went over a bump and she shifted in his lap.

"She's not really sure; the TARDIS pulled her here somehow." Jack said turning towards the back a bit more, his arm draped over the top of the seat now. Jack watched his face as he pondered this. He looked to his left where Gwen was sleeping in the seat next to the Doctor. Mickey, in the very back was asleep as well, his mobile in his hands, like he'd fallen asleep using it.

"Why did you do it Doctor, why become human?" Jack asked softly, he'd been dying to know.

"I was running," He said looking down at Rose again. "I'd just lost two very good friends; they're not dead, just lost to me and it just..." He trailed off with what sounded like a sob but he didn't cry. "It just hurt too much, I wanted to forget, losing them always hurts." He said looking up to meet Jacks eyes and Jack could see the pain there. "This will hurt someday," he said looking down at Rose again. "But I won't run from her anymore." He murmured almost to himself.

"Because she'll die someday?" Jack asked, he'd come to know that pain all too well and he stole a sidelong look at Ianto as he drove. The Doctor just nodded his head and swallowed hard.

"Have you really looked at her yet Doc?" Jack asked looking down at Rose now; curled up in the Doctor's lap, the long sleeve shirt she wore over her dress stained in splotches of blood, mostly his Jack knew.

"What do you mean?" He asked sounding slightly confused now.

"I don't think she's aging, or if she is it's been slowed down considerably." Jack said as they both looked down at Rose. The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out of the coat pocket he had stuffed it in and set about scanning her. The sonic beeped and he looked down at it then he scanned her again.

"Well?" Jack asked his eyes wide and curious.

"I need to run more tests on the TARDIS," he said not looking up at Jack as he put the sonic away.

"But?" Jack asked and then the Doctor looked up at him, his eyes full of a weird combination of hope, joy and sadness.

"Her aging seems to have slowed considerably," He finally said in an odd tone. "So much so that she's barely aging at all."

"But not like me?" Jack asked and the Doctor shook his head slowly as he brushed his fingers over her hair.

"No, not like you," he murmured and Jack nodded as he sat back in his seat.

~*~Four~*~

This time when Rose began to wake she felt almost like she was floating, nothing hurt and her body felt relaxed and at ease. For a moment she feared maybe she'd died, but then she heard the steady beeping of what could only be a heart monitor and opened her eyes, blinking a few times, the light was bright and it hurt a bit. Almost as soon as she had the thought the lights dimmed to a soft glow and she sighed in relief. She sat up slowly, still half expecting the horrible pains she'd felt last time she woke up, but there was none. Luckily the bed was already reclined up so she didn't have to move very far to be fully seated.

"Rose hold on!" The words were harsh and scared and Rose looked around the room till she saw the Doctor, sleeping, the top half of his body laid out over the end of her bed. He must be dreaming, and by the sounds of it, it was a nightmare. And if his words were any indication it was a dream she was intimately familiar with. She sat up fully and ran her hand over his hair, pushing it back out of his face.

"Doctor," she whispered, not wanting to scare him. "Doctor it's okay, wake up." She said gently running her fingers through his hair. He bolted up in his chair, his eyes wide as he stared at her. Then he was up, striding around the bed before he gathered her up his arms, pulling her close to his chest. She was glad she was no longer hurting everywhere so she could enjoy being held so close to him. His double hearts beat a reassuring sound as she wrapped her arms around him too. She felt a small prod and realized it was in her head and she pulled away a bit and smiled, it was the TARDIS, happy to have them both back.

"I'm home," she said and he nodded his head. She pulled away farther and looked him over. He'd changed his clothing. He was in brown pants that seemed just a touch to short, with a long sleeved button up, his suspenders were on, but hung down his legs, like he'd forgotten to pull them up and he had an untied bowtie hanging around his neck.

"I'm so sorry," he said taking her back, did he think she was upset to be back here?

"What? Why?" She asked, not able to hide the slight hurt in her voice.

"She pulled you through without any warning, and I know Jack told me that you weren't...that you and he weren't together, she still should have known better." He said and Rose didn't need to ask who _she_ and _he_ were, he was talking about the TARDIS and his half human double. "She just ripped you from your life without a thought."

"That's not true though," Rose told him softly and he looked up at her. "She asked, she came to me in a dream, I told her I'd do anything to get back to you, _I'd go right this second if I could' _that was what I told her." Rose searched his eyes, wondering if he believed her and nodded. "That's not all though, what else is wrong?"

"You're not..." He reached up and ran a hand through his thoroughly disheveled hair. "You're not aging, or well you are, but it's slowed so much that it's hardly happening." He told her and she nodded her head as she took that in. She'd been thinking about that in the back of her mind since Mickey and Jack brought it up how much she hadn't changed.

"So I really can give you your forever?" Rose asked with a smile, unsure why that was making him so sad. "Why don't you seem happy about that?"

"I never wanted that for you Rose," he said standing now and pacing the room. Rose flinched at his words but he didn't see. "Watching everyone you know and love withering and dying."

"Not everyone though," Rose said softly and he looked at her. "Not you, not Jack, that's two people I'll get to have. And at least now I'm here. I'd still be like this, even if I was stuck back _there_," she said the word with a slightly disgusted tone. "Watching Mum and Pete and Tony grow old and die. I can be here with you, we can have our forever." She finished looking down and playing with the hem of the sheet over her. "Unless you don't want me, now that you're... you again." She knew Jason had wanted her, knew he had loved her. But she knew there was no guarantee the Doctor wanted her the same way, even if his double had, that didn't mean he did now, still, who knew how long it had been for him? Maybe he'd moved on, no longer needed her like she needed him.

She heard movement and looked up just in time to see him swoop down and capture her lips. She made a small 'oomph' sound as he crashed into her. Rose welcomed the kiss, opening her mouth under his and deepening the kiss. His hands were in her hair, but he was bent at an odd angle again and it made her think of kissing Jason on the high top chair.

"I am him," he growled as he pulled away and ran kisses down her neck, sucking on her pulse point. Rose's hands pulled on his belt loops, and he pushed her back into the reclined bed as he climbed up so he was now straddling her legs. He moved on from the nice mark he'd made on her neck trailing up now, towards her ear. "Everything he felt," he said as he nipped her ear and she moaned and arched into his body and they both moaned at the contact. "I feel" He put his hand on her thigh, under her skirt, trailing up, and Rose's head swam. "He wanted you so badly," he said as her hands flew to his hair and tugged and he let out something between a moan and a growl before he nipped her again, just behind her ear. "Because I have _always_ wanted you," He finished when he could speak again. Then he was kissing her again and Rose never wanted it to stop.

A/N- And that's the fade to Black. One more chapter and this will be all done. I hope I hear more from you guys! Love getting the reviews. And Thanks to my amazing BETA Aislinn! Love you girl!


	6. Chapter Six Home

Chapter Six~*~ Home

Jack strolled through the TARDIS towards the med bay. He hoped Rose was awake and feeling better. He wondered if the Doctor had talked to her about anything yet or just danced around the issues like normal. As he neared the medbay he slowed and then came to a complete stop. There was what sounded like running coming from inside the medbay and mad laughter coming from what had to be Rose.

"Give it back right now Rose Tyler!" He heard the Doctor shout, though his voice was laced with laughter as well.

"Come on it looks better on my anyway," she giggled then screeched with another wild laugh and Jack had to see what was going on. He pushed the door open to find Rose in nothing but the Doctor's button down shirt, feet flying out from under neither her as the Doctor lifted her off the ground from behind her.

"Come on, I promised Jack I'd let him know when you were awake, and I can't go out there shirtless." He said as he nuzzled into her neck and Rose looked up and met Jack's smirking face.

"He knows," Rose told him as she lowered her feet to the floor, sending Jack a cheeky grin as she did. And the Doctor dropped a few kisses on her neck.

"How do you know?" He asked between kissing her as his hand slid up from her waist. Rose swatted it away and the Doctor jerked up.

"Oi, I was-" His eyes met Jack's and Jack wiggled his eyes brows at him and the Doctor felt the blush rush onto his face. "Hello Jack," he said and Jack nodded his head. The Doctor's shirt on Rose was only held closed by a few buttons in the middle and he could see love bites all down her collar bone. Well, they'd done something, even if it wasn't talking. The Doctor glared at Jack a bit and raised his hands up and pulled his shirt more firmly closed over Rose's chest and Jack laughed, followed by Rose. She raised her hands and buttoned the rest of the shirt, swatting at his hands and the Doctor released the shirt, but didn't step away from Rose. Jack had seen that look before, though it had been on a different body with dark cropped hair and big ears, it still clearly said 'hands off the blonde.'

"Glad to see you're feeling better," Jack said raising an eyebrow at her.

"Apparently I just needed a little TLC," she said and Jack laughed again with a nod.

"My team was just wondering what you wanted to do with Marla? Right now she's locked up, along with her men. But we can't keep her down there forever." Jack said leaning a hip against the hospital bed.

~*~One~*~

After a bit of discussion and some fudging of official files, it was decided that Marla would spend the rest of her life in the psych ward at Ashworth. When they left her there she was wailing about being from the future and how the Doctor was an alien. The nurses there had given the Doctor and Rose sympathetic looks as they gave her some kind of tranquilizer. Her men were retconned and then turned over to the local police. Charges included kidnapping and battery, both of which they had plenty of evidence of. Rose had left her testimony as well and they had assured her that they wouldn't need her to testify.

"Can we maybe go somewhere relaxing next?" Rose asked as they stepped out of the TARDIS heading towards Torchwood. The Doctor looked down at her, so elated to have her back with him. He still missed the Ponds like crazy, but having her back made him think, maybe it wasn't impossible, someday.

"I actually had something else in mind," He said his voice soft and a little mysterious.

"Oh, what's that?" She asked with a smile, her tongue tucked into her teeth.

"It's a surprise," He said and she chuckled and nodded. "I'll tell you after we say our goodbyes to Jack and his team."

They had spent the last day or so talking, laying in the TARDIS gardens, surrounded by sunshine and chirping birds (How had she not known the TARDIS had a garden?) They'd talked about where to go from here, and he'd asked if she still wanted to travel with him (Of course, always, forever Doctor.) And they'd made love in the cool grass, apple grass of course, which had surprised her a bit. He'd held her as she told him how worried she was about her mum. How she hoped that her mum knew she'd somehow made it back to him. He hadn't given her the words yet, the words that had come so easily from Jason, even though she knew he felt them. She could wait; it was enough for now just to be _with_ the Doctor.

"But not goodbye, goodbye, right?" She asked with a slightly worried look. "We'll visit?"

"Whenever you want," He told her and Rose snuggled into his arm and he dropped a kiss to the side of her head. "We can come back every weekend if you'd like." He said and found he really meant it. He could give Rose this bit of family, since she'd so readily given up her other family for him.

"And if you can land right," she teased and poked him in the side. He jumped away from her a bit, arms spread wide. She laughed as he stumbled over his own feet and caught himself before he fell. He sometimes reminded her of a baby giraffe just learning to walk.

"You're a bit of a klutz this time around you know?" She said giggling at the affronted look he sent her as he straightened his already straight bowtie.

"I'll have you know Rose Tyler, that I'm very graceful." He said wiggling his eyebrows and Rose blushed a little as she thought about when he was most graceful and he leaned over and kissed her. She still loved the way he said her name, it rolled off his tongue like honey. And the fact that he kissed her so easily now sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.

"Yeah, okay, a bit," she agreed taking his hand again. "Come on, Jack'll be waiting." He allowed her to pull him along. He wanted to get the goodbyes over with so he could show Rose her surprise. He really hoped it didn't upset her. He didn't think it would, but it wasn't something she'd asked for and he was afraid it would upset her.

"Hello Ianto," Rose said as they entered the 'visitor's office.' He was behind the little desk with a small smile on his face. Rose had yet to have a chance to talk to Jack about Ianto, but she promised herself next time they were here she'd corner Jack and make him spill.

"Hello Rose, Doctor, how did everything go with Marla?" He asked as he hit the button under the desk and the back wall slid open.

"Fine, everyone is where they should be now," Rose said as they all walked back towards Torchwood. Ianto walked back to make everyone tea and Rose walked up towards the computers, the Doctor right behind her.

Rose smiled at Martha as she walked up the stairs, but Martha's eyes where behind Rose, staring at the Doctor. This was the first time she'd seen him in person and Rose could see her trying to reconcile the Doctor she knew with this long limbed floppy haired man.

"Doctor?" She said standing up and he looked at her and just beamed.

"Martha Jones!" The Doctor said excitedly. Rose stepped to the side as the Doctor walked towards Martha. "You swallowed a planet!" He said pointing at her stomach and Martha laughed.

"And it's Smith, by the way," Mickey said and the Doctor looked over at him. He still couldn't believe how much Mickey had changed. He went from a whimpering young man hanging on Rose's leg to a mature, family man/soldier. He had to admit he was proud of the young man, not that he'd probably ever tell him that.

"Right, course it is," The Doctor said nodding, his smile threatening to split his face. "Martha Smith!" He said then made a face, his nose wrinkled up like he smelled something distasteful and shook his head. "No, Jones is better; maybe you should have taken her name." He said looking at Mickey and Rose just rolled her eyes.

"Doctor, rude," she said and he chuckled and nodded, oh how he'd missed her reprimands.

"Gwen," Rose said turning as the other girl came out of the office with Jack. "Gwen what's wrong?" Rose asked stepping over to her. She had tears running down her face, but she had a small smile on her face.

"Nothing," she said and her smile widened. "Rhys and I are having a baby," she said excitedly and Rose smiled. "I just found out this morning."

"That's wonderful!" Martha said rubbing her belly. "They can be best friends."

"Oh Gwen, you'll be a wonderful mum," Rose said stepping up to her and hugging her. She'd grown close to Gwen and Martha over the last little while and was a bit sad to be leaving.

"Congratulations," The Doctor said looking over at Rose. She turned and smiled at him and went back to talking with Martha and Gwen. He closed his eyes for just a moment and let his mind wonder, thinking about how he'd gotten so lucky to have Rose back in his life. Then suddenly an image came unbidden to his mind. Rose, her hair dark honey blond, no longer dyed, longer then it was now, a sparkling smile on her face as she rubbed her hands over her hugely round belly. She raised a hand and blew him a kiss and his eyes flew open. Rose was still standing with Gwen and Martha, a large smile on her face. He'd spent so much time running from her, never letting her all the way in. And now that she was back he knew he couldn't do it anymore. He didn't care if she only had an extra 30 or 40 years, he wanted her, all of her, forever. Did he want to be a father again? It shocked him a bit when the thought didn't send his feet running in the other direction. He did, he wanted that, wow.

"Wow," he muttered with a slight hitch in his voice. Ianto came around and handed out tea and Jack stepped up next to the Doctor as he stared at Rose.

"You know she use to tell me how much she wanted to be a mum someday." Jack said and the Doctor jerked his head towards him, shocked. How had he known what he'd been thinking? "But she said traveling with you was worth giving up the dream for." Jack told him casually before he stepped over to the girls across the room. But would she want that with him? Could he even give her that?

"Rose," He said his voice breaking at the end of her name and he cleared his throat. "Rose, we've got to get going, we're going to be late." He said and she looked up at him and smirked.

"I thought 'it also travels in time.'" She said imitating his old northern cadence pretty well with a smirk.

"Well, this is a bit time sensitive," He said and she laughed and started to give everyone hugs and promised to visit and call. She handed out her mobile number; the Doctor had gotten her a new one already and used his jiggery-pokery on it again.

"You call me with info on the baby shower, I'll be sure I'm there okay?" She called over her shoulder as the Doctor all but dragged her back out of the hub.

"Is something wrong?" She asked thinking he was being a little weird.

"Wrong, no not wrong," He said shaking his head as they walked, almost ran back to the TARDIS. He needed to know, RIGHT NOW, if he'd be able to give her that one dream. No matter how much longer he had her for, he wanted them to have this together. But he didn't want to say anything till he knew. And the fact that they'd already... he blushed at the thought. They hadn't used any form of birth control. It had only been two days since she'd woken up in the medbay on the TARDIS, so there was no way to tell yet, but he needed to know if they COULD.

He pulled her into the TARDIS and Rose followed, he released her hand as he quickly sent them into the Vortex and he looked almost like he was arguing with himself about something and Rose was worried as his hands went from in his hair to his bowtie and then hooked into his suspenders.

"Doctor?" She asked as she followed him up the stairs and then down a corridor towards the medbay. "What are we doing?"

"Tests," he said and she nodded her head as he turned away from her.

"I sincerely hope this isn't my surprise, because if it is we need to have a talk about what constitutes as a surprise," she said and he looked over his shoulder at her. He knew she was trying for a joke but it sounded a bit flat. She sat down on one of the medbay beds and watched him carefully.

"No," he said shaking his head. He walked over to her and held out his hand. "Arm?" She put her arm in his hand and he drew blood then turned back to the rows of machines she didn't know how to work. She trusted him, but she needed him to tell her what was going on or she was going to start freaking out.

"Okay Doctor, you're scarin' me a bit," she said and he jerked around towards her.

"Oh, damn," he said stepping back over to her. "I'm sorry, nothing to worry about, just wanted a clearer picture of what's going on with your aging." That was true too; he had the computer running a few different tests. How much longer would he have her for? 20 years? 40? 100? He needed to know.

"And we needed to rush out of the Hub for that?" She asked and he looked a little sheepish and Rose snorted. So not just that then she decided as she studied him.

"You were worried?" She guessed as he crossed his arms. "Something someone said spooked you and..." She trailed off and tilted her head as a thought occurred to her.

"It was when Gwen said she was pregnant," she said and his eyes went wide. "Are you afraid I'm pregnant? We didn't use anything." She muttered and then she pushed off the bed. "Can I even get pregnant?"

"I'm not... not sure," he told her and Rose just watched him. He didn't sound upset at the idea. She'd always wanted to be a mum, but had long since decided that wasn't a possibility with the Doctor.

"And if I can, is that... is that something you want?" She asked looking down at her hands again.

Damn, he thought as he watched her play with the hem of her sleeve. He'd gone about this all out of order. She'd told him now, more than once, how she felt, and other then when Jason said it, he'd not spoken of his feelings. He took a deep steadying breath and stepped up to her. He put a finger under her chin and tilted her face towards his. He could see hope shining in her eyes and knew he didn't have to ask if she wanted it.

"I have done a lot of stupid things in my life," he started and Rose tilted her head, unsure where this was going. "But walking away from you on that beach, leaving you behind with..." He trailed off and cleared his throat. "I regretted it almost immediately, but I couldn't fix it." He moved his finger from her chin and cupped her cheek. "Leave it to you and my wonderful ship to correct that mistake for me." He leaned down then and kissed her forehead, leaving his lips there for a few moments. He pulled back but left his hand on her cheek. "Rose Tyler, I love you and there is nothing I want more than to have a baby with you." Rose's bright answering smile lit up her face, even as the tears fell down her cheeks. Neither of them heard the beeping in the background as he leaned in and kissed her. Neither of them really noticed as the beeping got a bit louder. It wasn't until they both felt a mental prod that they pulled apart with a laugh.

"I think she wants you to look at the results," Rose said stealing herself for bad news. He nodded his head and turned towards the monitors and started going over the results.

"Wow," he said and Rose stepped over next to him and then glared at the screen, it was all written in Gallifreyan. "It looks like you could have anywhere from 5 to 7 hundred extra years Rose- he cut himself off when he looked up at her. She looked like she might cry again and he was confused, she'd said this was a good thing right? Hadn't she been happy about having more time with him the other day?

"Happy, happy tears," she told him gesturing to her face with a smirk and a sniffle. She'd watched his face as it flew through his myriad of concern, dread, and guilt and then after her words it settled on content. "I can't tell you how happy it makes me to know you won't be alone anymore."

"It also seems um, conceiving, shouldn't be a problem," He stammered and Rose nodded and felt something loosen in her chest at his words.

"So we can really have a baby?" She asked elation singing through her voice.

"Yes, we can." He said nodding his head and she giggled as his hair fell into his face.

"But are we..." She asked and he turned, without moving his hand from her cheek to look at the screen.

"To soon to tell, even my equipment isn't that advanced," He said turning back to look at her. "Should be able to tell in about 10 days, if not a little before."

"500 hundred years," Rose whispered with amazement before she took a deep breath. Then she looked up at him and cupped his cheek, mirroring his position. "I love you Doctor."

~*~Two~*~

He led them down the corridor, their hands clasped between them. He had a nervous smile on his face and kept looking at her then looking away. He was nervous about something, but he wouldn't say what, just kept telling her it was a surprise. But she'd follow him to hell and back, and had, so she trusted he knew what he was doing. They finally came to an ornately decorated door. It was carved with hundreds of roses, of all different sizes and shapes. He chuckled lightly and ran his free hand down the door before he looked at her, not looking away this time.

"This is my room," he said and she nodded. She'd never seen his room before, had only ever seen him sleep in the library, or the media room, once or twice she'd found him passed out in the jump seat, but she'd never seen his room before. "It uh, it didn't look like this last time I saw it." She realized he was blushing a bit and smiled at him, her tongue tucked into the corner of her mouth.

"'S beautiful," She told him then reached out and ran her hand down a wall, sending the same message to the wonderful ship. Rose could feel the ships pleasure at the comment and the Doctor watched her in awe. He cleared his throat and shifted from foot to foot. Then he reached down and opened the door and gestured Rose inside. She stepped into the room with a small gasp. For the last two nights Rose had slept in her old room, and the Doctor had joined her there. But now it looked almost as if the ship had merged the two rooms. The bedside table on 'Rose's' side of the bed held her book, three pictures of herself and him and one of herself with her mum and a few, very old, magazines. Her armoire, the light pink one the ship had given her on her first night on the ship, was next to the navy blue one that she assumed was the Doctor's. She spun around the room slowly, taking everything in.

"Oh it's wonderful," she said then turned to face him and smirked. "This your way of askin me to move in with you Doctor?" She asked with a wink and a giggle and now he tweaked his bowtie with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Could be," he said and she stepped into his arms when he opened them.

"What a wonderful surprise," she murmured with her fingers playing with the hairs on the back of his neck. "Shall we christen it?" She purred against his neck and he tried to keep his thoughts straight.

"Yes...er...I mean, no, no this isn't the surprise," he said and she pulled back and smirked at him, still playing her fingers through his hair.

"Oh really, have more for me do you?" She flirted and he tilted his head to the side as she played, and his eyes rolled back just a little. Then he blinked and cleared his throat.

"Hm... yes there was something," he said nodding his head. He'd had no idea how stimulating it was just to have someone play with your hair. "Oh you are going to have to stop that," he said, his voice husky now and Rose continued with a bright look on her face. He didn't even realize he'd moved till he was kissing her, his hands under her shirt eliciting a soft moan from her. He walked them towards the bed, hands splayed out over her back till the back of her knees hit the bed and she lost her grip on him and stumbled back onto the bed with a breathless giggle. Once she was no longer touching him his mind reengaged and he took a step back, remembering the other reason he'd brought her in here. She licked her bottom lip and he took a large step back from the bed.

"What's wrong?" She asked sitting up at the semi-serious look on his face now.

"You are _distracting_," he told her, with a mock glare as he pointed at her. She bit her lip and shrugged, that had kind of been the point. She started to get up off the bed and he shook his head. "No, you just sit right there and let me tell you about the idea I had."

"Okay," she said, with a mock serious look on her face. He'd rather hoped to broach the subject slowly, but he had a feeling if he didn't get right to the point she might get up again and then he'd never get to tell her his plan.

"I think I figured out a way to contact your mum," he said and all the humor dropped from her face at his words. "It's not foolproof, and I'll have to... er... help you along, but I think you can do it." He waited for a few moments but she didn't say anything as she stared at him. Then her eyes were filling with tears and she swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry, should I not have, I just thought you'd-

"Thank you!" She said and suddenly the tears were gone and she was bouncing from the bed. "Are we burning up a sun? How do you need to help me? What does this involve?"

"I'll have to help you, because we can't do this how I did last time." He said and she nodded as she sat back down. "No cracks, no doorways this time." He said as he sat down next to her. He laced her fingers through his and held her hand a bit tight. "The TARDIS pulled you from that other universe but she couldn't have done it all on her own. And the whole you're not aging, it all has to do with-

"Bad Wolf," Rose said nodding her head. She'd figured that out, was surprised in fact that he hadn't already brought it up. "So how will I do it then?"

"Your mind is different now," he explained and she nodded her head, which explained why she felt more tightly connected to the TARDIS herself now that she was running at full power again. "I'm fairly sure, with the right directions, you should be able to...mentally cross over and tell your mum goodbye. But I'd have to be in your mind with you, a type of tether to your body, so you don't get lost over there. You and your mum share a bond, and she may not be telepathic but that bond is very strong, and her mind is a little different now too, so I'm about 99.9% sure this will work." Rose looked thoughtful as he explained, and hadn't balked at 'I'd have to be in your mind' as he'd been afraid she would.

"And you really think I could do this?" She asked after a long few minutes and he nodded. "Okay, do we need to prep or can we do it now?" She asked and he was shocked at her readiness to let him do this. No more explanations, just 'Do it,' and suddenly he was standing across the table from her in 10 Downing street '_You don't even know what it is, you'd just let me?_' and he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have the trust and love of this amazing human sitting across from him on _their_ bed.

"We can do it now," he told her. "Scoot back onto the bed and sit across from me." He told her and they both moved up onto the bed so they were sitting in the middle, legs crossed with their knees touching. She took a long deep breath and smiled at him.

"Just relax your mind. If there's anything you don't want me to see, picture a door and close it and I'll stay out, I swear." He told her earnestly.

"Course you will," she said nodding her head, though she knew there was nothing she'd hide from him. He reached out and placed his fingers on her temple and her eyes fluttered closed. She felt what she could only describe as a poke and she chuckled. She thought hard about relaxing her mind, letting down her walls and suddenly they were standing in the control room, only it was the old control room, all coral struts and grated flooring and she looked around. Only now there were doors all around them that led to different things, different memories. She could sense where each door led and she looked at him quizzically.

"You can talk here Rose, it's your mind," he told her and Rose laughed out loud at the tone of his voice, it was his 'silly human' voice.

"What now?" She asked and he stepped up to her and took her hand.

"Can you find your brightest memory of your mum, a moment in time where your bond was strong?" He asked and she turned her head as she looked at all the different doors and nodded. She pulled him towards one with a smile. He was shocked that all the doors in her mind were standing open, not only that but they were all welcoming, as if she'd be fine with him waltzing through her mind.

"I would be," she said and his eyes snapped to hers. "Sorry, but you're thinking pretty loud." She said with a smirk. He'd have to explore that later. She shouldn't be able to read him like that; she wasn't in his mind, was she? "Come on," she said with a giggle as she pulled him through a door which led into a corridor, which also had open doors all along it. He passed birthdays with Jackie, gymnastics practice with Jackie on the side lines cheering her on, fights and making up, memory after memory of Jackie Tyler and Rose Tyler. Then she stopped at a door and sighed, it was heavy and a bit sad and she pulled him through it.

Jackie and Rose were sitting on the couch in their flat. She looked like it was just a bit before he'd met her for the first time. Rose was crying and she was sporting a black eye and his blood boiled at the sight.

"Calm down, we're not here for that," His Rose said and he took a deep breath and nodded his head. He knew when they were now. This had to be right after Jimmy Stone. Rose had told him about that prick one night after Jack had pulled out the hypervodka.

"I'm so stupid," memory Rose whispered to her mum as she cried and Jackie pulled back and wiped the tears gently from her face.

"You listen to me Rose Tyler," Jackie said with a firm look on her face, there was no arguing with that look. "You are not stupid; anyone can get pulled in by a pretty face and even prettier promises. That Jimmy will get what's coming to him. But I'll not let you blame yourself for this, you hear me?"

"She was always there for me," Rose whispered with tears in her eyes.

"Hold on to that feeling Rose," he said stepping behind her so she was still looking at herself and her mum. "Hold on to it and push out, reach with your mind and listen. Like you're in a crowded room, listen for your mum. She's there, just listen." He told her and Rose did as he told her, straining forwards. She closed her eyes and felt a sudden lurch in her belly and gasped. It almost felt like flying, like she was flying through space.

When her eyes popped open she was standing in the living room of Pete and her mum's living room. Jackie was standing in front of her, her tea cup broken on the floor in front of her.

"Mum," she said and her voice sounded a little echoy but Jackie smiled as she stepped forward.

"Rose," her voice was strangled with tears and Rose nodded.

"I'm here mum," she said nodding her head. "Sort of."

"Is this like before, are you burning up another sun?" Jackie asked and Rose shook her head but didn't really want to go into the specifics.

"Not exactly," Rose said with a chuckle. "Oh mum, I'm so sorry I disappeared like that. But I'm okay, I'm with the Doctor again and I'm so...I'm so happy. But I miss you."

"Knew you were," Jackie told her with a nod. "Pete had people out looking for ya, but I told him, I said 'You're not going to find her, our girl found a way back and she took it.'" Jackie said and Rose sighed in relief.

"I'm sorry it had to be so sudden," Rose told her and felt a small mental prod at the back of her mind. "I don't have much time mum, I love you so much!"

"I love you too Rose, you take care of yourself, and tell the Doctor he'd better take care a ya, or I'll figure a way across just to thump him." Jackie told her but there were tears running down her face ruining the effect of the threat.

"Take care of Pete and Tony, I miss you all, I love you!" She said and suddenly she felt a snap and she was flying backwards. She stumbled backwards into the Doctor, who caught her easily and her eyes filled with tears but she smiled.

"Thank you," she told him and he pulled her into a hug. "Thank you." She said again and he nodded, too choked up to say anything. After everything he'd done, all the ways he'd hurt her and she still wanted to be with him, she humbled him in a way no one ever had.

"Relax again Rose, let me go," he told her and she nodded her head. She didn't really want to let him go, wanted to stay here in her mind with him, but she knew they couldn't. She took a long deep breath and let go.

When she opened her eyes again she was lying on her side, and the Doctor was pulling his fingers from her temple. He shifted down and lay down next to her and opened his arms and she gladly slid into them and cried.

~*~Three~*~

When Rose woke up she was still in bed, only now there were covers pulled up over her and she seemed to be missing her jeans. She was sure the Doctor must have taken them off after she cried herself to sleep. She sat up and looked around and found him sitting at a little desk/work bench, hunched over, with a light hanging over the table. He seemed to be working on something and Rose was touched that he'd stayed in the room with her.

"Whatcha workin on?" She asked as she sat up slowly. She felt so much better now. She'd gotten to say goodbye to her mum and didn't have that looming over her head anymore. She snickered when he jumped a little.

"Ah, I thought, might be good for you to have one," He said as he turned in the chair and held something up. It was sleek and looked almost like a pen but, no he'd never done anything like that before.

"Is it a sonic screwdriver?" She asked and he smirked at her and shook his head.

"Nope" He said popping the 'p' at the end of the word then looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hm, haven't done that in a while." He muttered as he stood and walked over to the bed. "It's a sonic pen; I nicked it off a woman breeding tiny fat babies." She gave him a puzzled look and he smirked. "I'll tell you later. Anyway, I've just been modifying it a bit for you, adding a few settings." He held it out to her and she reached out and took it. She ran her fingers over it and smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said with a bright smile. "For everything."

"I'm just glad I could help," he said as he sat down next to her. "You gave up everything to help me and I can't help but feel like I don't de-

"Stop it," Rose told him sharply and he looked at her. "I'll say this till you don't need to hear it anymore, but I chose you, a long time ago, and I'm never going to change my mind, or regret my decision. I choose you, full stop."

"I choose you too Rose Tyler," he said smiling at her as he leaned in and kissed her. "Full stop." He agreed and then he leaned back and began to tie the bowtie that had been hanging untied around his neck. "So, where to now?" He asked and she looked down at her sleek new sonic pen and smiled.

"You know, I keep hearing about Barcelona, and dogs with no noses, but I've yet to see it." She said as she stood and walked to her armoire, absolutely not caring that she wasn't wearing any jeans.

"Um, right, yes," He said as he hopped up off the bed and smiled at her as she started to pull clothing out and toss them on the bed. "Barcelona!"

A/N- So this is the end! I hope you all liked it. Should have the Epilogue up in the next few days. I really hope you enjoyed the story!


	7. Chapter Seven Epilogue

Dream Me Home~*~Epilogue

Rose had been back for a little more than a month now and things couldn't be better. They had made it to Barcelona, but it had been their third try. On the first try they'd ended up on another broken star ship, surrounded by clockwork droids again. Only these ones looked as though they'd started to incorporate the human crew into themselves, instead of the ship. They'd saved the remaining crew of about 40, out of more than a hundred, and disabled the clockwork droids. It had brought up a lot of unwelcome feelings and memories in Rose. They'd spent the next two days talking about old not quite healed wounds and Rose told him of her insecurities back then and he'd confessed to pushing her away out of fear of losing her.

Then the Doctor had told her about the different things that were going on with her mind now. Of the many things that were changing in her mind telepathy was the most exciting for her. The fact that she could give the Doctor even just a bit of what he'd lost thrilled her to no end. He'd shown her that they could go into their minds together, had shown her just how he felt about her as he made love to her, their minds still intertwined together. It had been like nothing she'd ever felt before, feeling both her pleasure and his as they moved together, she wanted that feeling forever. He'd confessed as they lay there together after that they could make it permanent, that they wouldn't have to be touching to hear each other; that they would know where the other was, no matter how far apart they were.

"It's call...its technically a marriage bond," he'd stuttered out and Rose had laughed and kissed him. When she pulled away she'd smirked at him and then cuddled into his arm.

"If that was you proposing it needs work," she'd told him before she yawned. He'd chuckled and nodded his head, running his hand through her hair. She was asleep in seconds and he began to plan. He could do this; he could give her a proposal worthy of her.

Their second try at Barcelona had ended up with them at Hedgewick's World of Wonders, which he told her used to be the greatest theme park in the galaxy. She'd had to stand back and watch as the Doctor was taken over by the Cyberplanner, which had been frightening enough without the threat of the whole planet being blown up. While the Cyberplanner was in control he'd said some nasty things to Rose.

"_So, you're playing chess with yourself?" She asked as she tightened the ropes around his waist, the knot in the back as he'd told her to do._

"_I am, and winning," He said in that smug voice. Before he reached up and ripped something away from his face._

"_Actually, he has no better than a twenty five percent chance of winning at this stage in the game. Some very dodgy moves at the beginning. Hello, Rose Tyler. Fantastic." He said his voice taking on the northern burr of her first Doctor and she stepped back. "I'm the Cyberplanner."_

"_You're not the Doctor," Rose said as she walked around the table to glare at him. "Get out." She told him firmly and he just smiled smugly at her, it was similar to the look the Doctor gave her, only there was a nastiness to it that wasn't normally there._

"_No." he said simply as he sat back, staring at her. "I'm working the mouth now. Allons-y. Oh, you should see the state of these neurons. He's had some cowboys in here. Ten complete re-jigs." He said and Rose understood he was talking about regeneration. So whatever this was it had access to the Doctor's memories._

"_And I know all about you Rose Tyler, tagging along on the Doctor's coat tails. He's stuck with you now though, isn't he?" He shifted forward as though about to share a secret with her. "He just loves to leave you behind doesn't he?" Rose swallowed at the words but knew they weren't true, knew he was just pulling painful snippets from the Doctor's mind, but it didn't make them hurt any less._

"_You don't scare me," __she__ told him, looking him right in the eyes, and he didn't, not really, she had total faith in the Doctor._

"_Oh, dear me, listen, soon we'll wake. We'll strip you down for spare parts, then build a spaceship and move on." He said and then he smirked at her as she understood what he was saying._

"_There's more cybermen comin," __she__ said nodding her head, okay, they could deal with this._

"_They're waking from their tomb right now. You can either die or live on as one of us." He told her and she snorted._

"_Listen, you may think you're so smart, takin' over the Doctor's mind and all, but cybermen, really? We've faced worse in a rowdy pub," She said hoping her bravado lasted as he sneered at her._

"_He can't even access the lips." He said snidely and Rose snorted and nodded as she noticed his hand writing something down on the table. Careful not to move her head she read the words 'hit me!' She really didn't even have to work up to it, she just reached back and slapped him, her mum would have been proud._

"_Argh! Ow! Oh, that hurt. Bit of pain, neural surge. Just what I needed. Blimey you hit like your mum," __he__ said and she smiled proudly with a nod._

"_Why are you playing? What are the stakes?" She asked leaning in towards him as she looked over the board. She didn't know a lot about chess, the Doctor had only started to show her how to play a few days before...well before. And she hadn't yet asked if they could continue the lessons now she was back._

"_If he wins, I give up my mind and he gets access to all my memories, along with knowledge of time travel. But, if I win, he'll break his promises to get out of my head and then kill us all anyway." He said all in one long breath and Rose glared at him the whole time._

"_So, nothing we haven't faced before," __she__ said and he smiled proudly at her and nodded._

"_Right, yes, completely fine," __he__ said nodding his head. Rose had a feeling he was bluffing, though whether it was for her benefit or this Cyberplanner's she wasn't sure. "He's very sure of himself, isn't he?" He said and Rose took a deep breath and leaned away from the table._

"_Cyberplanner, that's a really rubbish title you know," __she__ said knowing she was no longer talking to the Doctor._

"_If you don't mind, I have a chess game to finish, and you have to die, pointlessly and very, very painfully. Toodle-oo." He said waving his fingers at her and she stepped down from the platform._

It had taken a lot of work, but they'd beaten the Cyberplanner. In the end the planet had been blown up though, which she knew bothered the Doctor. But once again they'd beaten the cybermen, so she took that as a victory. Once they were safely on the Emperor's ship, watching the planet below them explode the Doctor pulled her into his arms and rested his forehead on hers.

They'd laid in their bed that night and he'd apologized, unnecessarily, for the things the Cyberplanner had said to her. She'd told him there was really nothing for him to apologize for. Then she'd changed the subject, and he'd let her. They spent the rest of the night talking about what it might be like to raise a family traveling through space and time. And in the back of his mind he continued to work on his plan.

But finally, finally they'd made it to Barcelona. But of course he'd landed almost 100 years off the mark and instead of dogs with no noses they'd gotten small angry aliens that wanted the Doctor's ship. Really they were only about 3 feet tall. And Rose was still laughing about it when they flew off into the vortex after the disastrous trip to Barcelona.

~*~One~*~

"I don't really know why we're in Cardiff though," Rose said as they walked along the water front. There'd been a party dress on their bed when she stepped out of the shower and a note to meet her in the control room after she got dressed. They'd had a pretty relaxing day strolling through an asteroid market. They had shopped and eaten and gotten into no trouble whatsoever. He just looked down at her and smirked. He'd changed too, which was unusual in and of itself. The Doctor hardly ever changed. He was wearing dark pants now, though they still seemed a bit short and a light blue oxford with a grey vest over top that had a chain hanging across it. He'd pulled it out to show her that it was the pocket watch that had held his essence when he was Jason and she'd called him a romantic and he'd blushed. And the whole look was set with a grey bowtie and a greyish purple jacket that hung to his knees. She did miss the suspenders a bit, but overall she liked the look and told him as soon as she'd walked into the control room.

"So it's enigmatic today huh?" She asked as she bumped her shoulder into his. "Did I tell you how much I love the dress?" She asked as she released his hand and stepped away from him. He stopped and watched as she spun, the skirt flying up around her. Rassilon she was gorgeous. Had he told her that when she stepped into the control room? No, he'd just stood there slack jawed and smiled when she told him how much she loved his new look.

"You look beautiful in it," he finally said when she stopped spinning with a giggle. "I knew that color would look amazing on you." He said and she blushed just a little, still a bit unused to hearing complements like that from him. Truthfully it wasn't just one color, it was midnight blue, but there was some kind of interwoven threads that made the dress sparkle like the night sky.

"Thank you," she said as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She'd left it down, all but a bit on each side which she'd clipped up on the sides with clips shaped like stars. She had little crescent moons hanging from her ears that jangled a little when she touched them. He put his arm around her waist and they began to walk again. He looked down at her every few seconds and Rose wondered what he had planned.

"Just up ahead," he told her running his hand up her spine and back down to rest on her hip. The move sent a shiver through her whole body and he smirked just a little. "Are you cold?" he asked with a chuckle and she slapped his arm. It was the middle of summer and the night was pleasantly warm.

"No I'm not bloody cold," she told him and then laughed with him. They walked in a comfortable silence; Rose's head was resting on his shoulder as they walked. She still couldn't believe it sometimes that she'd made it back, that she was with him, and that they were _together_.

"Ah, there we are," he said as they came up to what looked like an old pub tucked between a bait shop and a coffee shop. She was a little shocked, weren't they a little... dressed up for a place like that? She looked up at him but he had a bright smile on his face and she shrugged, she was sure he knew what he was doing. She squeezed his arm as they headed towards it. It was oddly quiet for this time of night; she'd thought there would be at least a bit of music or something coming from it.

"Doctor?" She questioned as he stepped up to the door. He just wiggled his eyebrows at her and pulled the door open. Rose stepped into a dark room. She couldn't really make much out but she heard the door close behind her and felt the Doctor at her back. Suddenly the lights flashed on and voices from all over shouted out at her.

"SURPRISE!" She looked around shocked as she took in all the faces. Mickey and Martha were towards the back with everyone from Torchwood. Gwen was standing with a man she'd not met yet but assumed it was Rhys. He had a sweet smile and held Gwen close to his side and Rose smiled as she looked around. Then she spotted a face she hadn't seen in so long and tears sprang to her eyes.

"Sarah Jane!" She cried as Sarah waved at her. Rose turned to Jack as he came forward and smiled at her.

"What's all this about?" She asked as she looked over his shoulder at the huge 'Congratulations!' sigh hanging on a wall.

"It's an engagement party," he said easily and Rose's face fell. "For you two."

"But we're not... Doctor, tell them we're..." She trailed off and swallowed hard as she turned to find the Doctor behind her on one knee a small TARDIS blue box in his hands.

"Rose," he said before he took a deep breath. He had to swallow hard as her eyes filled with tears and she brought her hands up to cover her mouth. "I've been everywhere, seen every wonder this universe has to offer and none of it compares to you. You took this broken, worn down old solider and with your compassion and love of life showed me it was okay to live again. You showed me how to forgive, not only myself, but the universe. I know what it is to lose you and will do everything in my power to keep that from ever happening again. I love you, have loved you, will love you, forever. Marry me?" He reached his free hand up and she held out her left hand to him and he could see that it was shaking. He slipped the ring on her finger and Rose took his hand and pulled him up and then jumped into his arms, kissing him.

"Was that a yes?" Jack asked as everyone cheered. "Really though did anyone hear her say yes?"

"Shut up Jack!" The Doctor said before Rose pulled his head back down to her lips again.

~*~Two~*~

"I'm so happy to see you," Rose asked a little while later after she'd, finally, pulled herself away from kissing the Doctor. Sarah Jane smiled at her and took her hand and looked at the ring. Rose looked down at it too since she really didn't take the time to look at it while she was kissing him. As she stared down at it she thought it looked familiar, and then she gasped.

"Doctor!" She called looking up and surprising Sarah Jane.

"Oh you're in trouble already," Mickey said as he stepped away from whatever he was talking about with Jack and Ianto. He had a slightly guilty look on his face, as though maybe he knew what she was going to say.

"Where'd you get this?" She asked wondering if it really could be what she thought it was. He scratched the top of his head, then the side of his face as he looked down at the ring on her finger.

"Did I uh... never tell you?" He asked and she was enjoying watch him squirm a little, even if she was a bit confused.

"You you or...him" She cleared her throat and he nodded. "Did he tell me what?"

"I kept it all; it's in a room in the TARDIS, safe and sound." He told her and her eyes went big. All eyes were on the pair again, though now they had no idea what they were talking about.

"No, he never said," she said shaking her head as she looked back down at the ring. It was silver with a small round cut emerald flanked by two diamonds on each side. The ring itself had a small leaf pattern on the sides.

"The stones were reset, and I ah, added the two smaller ones on the sides. It's a much stronger metal, but I had them duplicate the design exactly, even down to the small nick in the side and the uh... inscription, though I added to that." He couldn't tell by the look on her face whether she was upset or not. She had tears in her eyes, but that could be good or bad, he'd meant to tell her right off, but he'd been a little distracted. Rose pulled the ring off her finger and turned it over; on the inside it said _'Love you Jacks' _and then next to that it said simply '_Forever'_ which Rose knew was the Doctor's addition. "Are you... do you mind?"

"No," she said shaking her head as a huge smile broke out over her face. "No I love it!" She said standing so she could kiss him again.

"Okay, you wanna share with the rest of the class now?" Jack asked and Mickey punched him in the arm and Jack smirked.

~*~Two~*~

"So it's a replica of your mothers ring?" Martha asked after Rose explained everything to the group. "That's so sweet."

"Yeah, he can be pretty romantic when he wants to be," Rose said as she looked down at the ring again. Truthfully she was a bit surprised at the proposal, she wasn't sure this was something he'd ever want. Being married was so...human. She'd only been giving him a hard time the other night when he'd been telling her about the marriage bond. She wondered if that was part of his proposal? Did he want to be that close to her? She knew it was something she wanted, craved if she was honest with herself. She'd have to ask him after they were alone later.

"How are you feeling?" Rose asked as she placed her hand on Martha's belly and laughed at the jab she received from the baby. She was due any day now and Rose was honestly surprised she'd even come out tonight.

"Huge," Martha said and everyone laughed. "I'm really excited to meet her.

"So, when's the wedding?" Jack asked as he stepped over to the group of girls. Rose was sitting with Martha, Gwen and Sarah Jane.

"Gees Jack, they just got engaged," Gwen said slapping his arm. He winced and rubbed it but Rose knew he was faking "Give them an hour," she said winking at Rose. "Don't let any aliens bite you before the wedding though," she said and shivered and Rose wondered what the story there was.

"I'll keep that in mind," Rose said and Gwen laughed and went off to talk to Rhys. Martha got up and walked over to Mickey and the Doctor, who were currently playing pool and trading insulting jabs about each other's talent in the game. "This is a nice pub Jack," Rose said looking around the little place. It was just big enough for their little group.

"I'm going to grab a drink, you two want anything?" Sarah Jane asked as she stood up.

"I'm good," Rose said holding up her glass and Jack just smiled and shook his head. When Sarah was gone Rose looked back at Jack. She could see Jack was not looking at her, but was in fact staring over her left shoulder, where Ianto was standing at the bar, now talking to Sarah Jane. "What's the story with you two?" She asked keeping her voice down just a bit.

"Huh?" Jack asked looking back at her now. Then his eyes flicked back to Ianto and back to her. "We're just... I don't know." Jack said and Rose was stunned by the longing in Jack's voice. In the short time that she'd spent at the hub she'd caught the two of them making out twice, so she was sure whatever he was feeling it wasn't unrequited. "It's complicated."

"Oh Jack I'm so sorry," Rose told him understanding it was his immortality standing in the way. "I wish I could fix it somehow."

"It's not your fault sweetie," he said taking her hand. "You wanted me around, can't fault you for that." He tried for a flirty grin with a wink but Rose knew his heart wasn't in it. "I've tried it before is all, sticking with one person, it doesn't end well."

"Does Ianto know?" She asked glancing over her shoulder at him.

"Yeah," he said nodding his head.

"Well it must not bother him too badly then," Rose said and he nodded.

"It might not now, but it will in 20 or so years," He told her and she reached out and took his hand.

"You know, since I've been back the Doctor and I have talked, a lot." She said and he nodded his head, unsure where this was going. "And he told me you used to tell him life was too short, even for him, to dwell on the end. That if he wanted me he should do something about it." Jack chuckled as he nodded his head. He had told the Doctor that, and much more about not letting their mismatched life spans stop him from loving Rose and his eyes went wide. Rose smiled, her tongue tucked into the corner of her mouth as Jack stood up and winked at her.

"Ianto!" He called and Rose turned and watched as the other man pushed off the bar and opened his mouth to answer Jack but couldn't as Jack wrapped his arms around him and kissed him fiercely to cheers from the rest of the group.

"You know I never once told you that," The Doctor whispered in her ear and she jumped a bit and turned to look at him, blushing.

"Could be I maybe over heard him tell you that," She confessed and he sat down next to her, taking her hand. He looked thoughtful as his thumb swirled over the top of her hand.

"I wasn't ready then," he said simply and Rose nodded her head. "I hope you know this isn't just because you're going to live longer, I was fully prepared to take this step even before I know your life span was so much closer to mine, right?"

"I know," she said with a huge smile. "You told me you loved me before we even found out how much longer I'll have," she reminded him and he nodded his head. She looked over her shoulder and Jack and Ianto were sitting at the far end of the bar talking and holding hands and her smile grew. They'd be okay, even if Rose had to come back and kick Jacks arse every once in a while.

~*~Three~*~

"Yes I hear you," Rose mumbled as she pulled herself out of bed. The TARDIS was all but screaming at her in her mind to get up, not worried or scared screaming, just impatient "I have only been sleeping for 6 hours; you know I'm rubbish without at least 7 hours of sleep." The lights flashed, still impatient, still trying to rush her. "Okay, okay," Rose grumbled as she pulled on her dressing gown. "Do I need to change?" She got a decidedly negative feeling and smiled. "Lead the way then." She said as she threw on her dressing gown and the medbay flashed in her mind and Rose headed out their bedroom door. The Doctor was working at something in the control room; he'd woken before her and murmured something about thinking something sounded off.

She walked into the medbay and the lights flashed on and Rose yawned. She looked around the room, unsure what she was supposed to be doing. A light flashed above a computer and Rose walked over and it flicked on. The screen flashed through a few things and Rose caught her name at the top of the screen then it stopped on a page, her name at the top and 'Pregnant' flashed across the screen.

"Really?" She asked looking around the medbay. "Are you sure, really sure?" She felt what she could only describe as a giggle and love. "I assume you distracted him this morning so we could work out some kind of surprise?" She had a vague feeling that that was exactly what she'd done. The screen went off and a light flashed over the door.

"Okay, leaving now are we?" Rose asked walking to the door. She pushed it open, only she didn't step into the hallway. The door opened up into a nursery, the most amazing nursery Rose had ever seen. It was done in blues and greys, stars dotted the ceiling and the mobile hanging over the crib was stars and crescent moons. There was a rocking chair in the corner. Rose stepped forward and her heart clenched when she realized it was covered in a pink blanket that had been Rose's when she was a small child.

"It's amazing," Rose said turning as she took in everything.

"Rose?" She heard the Doctor's voice from the hallway and she took a deep breath. The door opened and he stepped into the room and his eyes went big. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out and he took a staggering step towards her. She reached out and took his hand and was inundated by shock, love, joy, excitement and fear.

"Rose," he said again, his voice strangled with emotion. "Are you..."

"Yeah," she said nodding her head as she sent him back her feelings of excitement, joy, love and let him feel her touch of fear as well. They weren't fully bonded yet, but he'd been working on her touch telepathy with her. "TARDIS showed me as soon as I woke up." He pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair and after a few moments he began to shake.

"Doctor, are you okay?" She asked and he pulled away and Rose was stunned by the tears trailing down his face.

"I have never been better, not in 1200 years," he managed to say before he pulled her to him again, holding her like he may never let her go.

~*~16 Weeks~*~

"Twins Rose!" He cried as he looked at the scan he'd just taken. She was about 16 weeks pregnant now, but she was moving along a bit slower than a normal pregnancy.

"Are you sure?" Rose asked as the double heart beat pulsed through the room. "I mean, you have two hearts yeah?"

"Ah that's true, but they won't get the second heart till the first regeneration." He told her as he typed into the computer to his right and then placed a small device on her belly and it began to move over her belly. "There they are." He said in awe as a picture appeared on the monitor in front of them. He was right of course, it was twins.

"Wow," Rose said as she watched them move together. "They're so small." She whispered as she watched them. The Doctor rested his hand on her belly and she looked away from the monitor to watch his face. He looked so happy; the awe in his eyes was overwhelming.

"I love you," she said and he pulled his eyes from the monitor and looked at her.

"I love you," he told her bending down to kiss her.

~*~20 Weeks~*~

Rose gripped the side of the toilet as she emptied the contents of her stomach into it. She'd thought she'd missed morning sickness; she was 20 weeks pregnant after all. But no, it had finally shown its ugly head and it had been 3 days since she was able to keep anything other than tea and bananas of all things, down. She sighed at the cool hands on the back of her neck and then he pulled her hair up into a clip and put a cold wet flannel on her neck.

"You should have called Rose," he told her, his voice only a little upset.

"You were busy," she said as the worst of the sickness seemed to subside. She groaned as she sat back placing her hand on her just barely there baby bump.

"Rose Tyler, helping Jack with a minor computer problem is not busy," he told her and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes and he sighed and slid down so he was sitting next to her. The small computer problem had to do with terrorists trying to steal alien tech, so it really wasn't that small. "I'm sorry."

"This isn't going to last the rest of the pregnancy right?" She asked looking up at him with pleading eyes and he winced and then took a deep breath.

"Honestly Rose I'm not sure," he told her and she tried to hide her disappointment at the answer. "I've never had a baby the old fashioned way," and she chuckled and then sniffled. He put his hand over hers on her belly. He'd told her all about the looms and how impersonal having children had been on Gallifrey.

"It's okay," she said taking a deep breath. "They're worth it." He looked down at her pale face and slightly sunken eyes and decided to look into some kind of fortifying smoothie or something for her, she needed something and she wasn't getting it with tea and bananas.

~*~22 Weeks~*~

"Can you feel that?" he asked and her smile grew as he ran his hands up and down her face her smile growing bigger and bigger. He was helping her feel the babies in her mind and it was amazing.

"Yeah," she said laughing with excitement and joy. "Yeah I can," she said as she covered his hands with her own. That morning the babies had reached out to the Doctor's mind, looking for the familial bond and he'd almost tripped down the stairs. So now he was helping her feel it herself. Her developing telepathy was still growing and she still needed his help.

"Will I..." she trailed off a little and he worried as her face turned pensive. "Will I always need your help to feel them?" She asked and he hated how many answers he couldn't give her.

"I'm not sure, not when you're touching them" he told her and she smiled and nodded, but he saw the disappointment in her eyes. "Once we bond it'll open your telepathy a lot, when that happens I think it'll be like a bridge to them," He told her and she smiled and nodded.

"Do we really need to wait till they're born to do the bonding?" She asked and he sighed and pulled her into his arms.

"I think we should and TARDIS agrees," he told her and Rose felt a wave of sympathy from the ship and an agreement with the Doctor and she sighed.

"Fine," she said nodding her head. "We'll wait."

~*~26 Weeks~*~

"So it's really going to be almost a year?" Martha asked as she sat with Rose in the Smiths backyard. Mickey and the Doctor were running around with Johnny and Rose was pretty sure she'd never seen anything cuter. She looked at Martha and nodded her head. "Blimey and I thought 9 months was bad." She said as she cuddled her daughter in her arms. Little Rosie Jane was almost 5 months old. She'd been born shortly after Rose and the Doctor's engagement party.

"Yeah, he thinks it'll be anywhere from 11 to 13 months." Rose told her and Martha whistled lightly and Rose laughed. "Could be a bit earlier than that though," Rose said looking at Martha as she laid her hand on her belly. "Since its twins."

"What!?" Martha said making little Rosie fuss. "Twins, really?" She asked as she soothed the baby.

"Yeah," Rose said nodding her head. "I'm in the process of trying to convince the Doctor to let us find out if it's boys or girls."

"He doesn't want to know?" Martha asked and Rose smirked.

"Says he wants to be surprised," Rose said laughing at the look Martha sent her.

"Right, cause you two don't get enough of that in life." Martha told her and Rose nodded laughing.

~*~32 Weeks~*~

"Are you okay?" The Doctor asked for the hundredth time in two hours and Rose was close to kicking him. She knew it was not his fault that they were stuck in this prison cell and had been for the last six hours. She was the one who'd taken off her engagement ring because it no longer fit her, which meant in the eyes of this government she was unwed, and pregnant, a very big deal.

"I'm..." She started to say 'fine' as she had for the last two hours but the word wouldn't come. "Tired," she said instead sinking into the small bed by the wall. "I'm hungry, I'm tired, the babies are sitting weird, which is making my back hurt and I wanna go home." She said the last word on a broken sob and the Doctor sat down next to her pulling her into his arms.

"I'm sorry," he told her running his hands over her belly and both babies shifted down and the pressure on her back eased.

"Thank you," she whispered and she rested in his arms. "How much longer?"

"They should be here soon to set bail," he told her taking her hand. "They'll want us back for the trial in about a week." He told her before he took her hand and squeezed. _Of which I have no intention of showing up to. _He said in her head and she sighed and nodded her head. "And when we get home how about a bath and chips?"

"Sounds heavenly," Rose said closing her eyes. This Doctor could out cook both her previous Doctor's and he loved to cook for her. Especially since the morning sickness had more or less left her be.

~*~37 Weeks~*~

"I changed my mind," The Doctor said as Rose sipped her morning smoothie. It was something the Doctor put together to give her all the vitamins she needed plus a bit extra, plus it was bloody delicious.

"Bout what?" Rose asked when he took her hand and headed down the corridor away from the control room.

"I don't want to wait," he said shaking his head as he pulled her into the medbay. "I wanna know what we're having."

"Oh, the babies," she said smirking at him. She hadn't said anything about the gender of the babies in weeks, which meant he'd been thinking this over for a while.

"Yep, can't wait, it's taking too long," he told her leading her over to the bed and she laughed.

"You make it sound like I'm holding out on you," she told him as she levered herself up onto the bed. She looked all of her 37 weeks pregnant now.

"Well really it's my fault," he said with a smile and a wink. The babies were only 6% human, which he assured her would have no effect on them in any drastic way.

"Oh believe me, I know it is," she said sending him a smirk and a wink as she set her smoothie down and laid back on the bed. She loved the ultrasounds on this ship. They were clearer than anything they had on earth. He typed away on the computer and pulled the small ultrasound device off the table next to the bed and set it on her stomach. It began to move and he typed a few things in and then a picture popped up on the monitor and Rose sighed happily.

"Aren't they amazing?" Rose whispered and he turned and looked at the monitor, a huge smile on his face. The babies moved around restlessly and Rose chuckled as they pushed around in there. "Getting a bit active," she said watching as her belly moved in awe.

"Ah sorry," he said and his face went rosy. "They're probably feeding off my excitement. I'm still not used to having them there all the time; forget to dampen things down a bit."

"Ah," Rose said nodding her head but he could see the way her eyes dimmed just a little at his mention of his bond to the babies and hoped-prayed-wished that when she and he bonded it would open her to the familial bond with their children.

"Look," he said pointing when one of the babies rolled and the Doctor shouted "A boy!" and Rose giggled, seemed it was a trait across species, wanting a boy. "Oh, and come on turn over, oh! Princess!" He said as the other baby moved. "A girl, one of each Rose," He said looking at her and she had tears in her eyes.

"Perfect," Rose said taking his hand as they watched the babies wiggle around in their safe little home.

~*~41 Weeks~Girls~*~

"So what are the boys off doing?" Rose asked as she sat in Martha's living room surrounded by her friends. Gwen had her baby girl in her arms, only a few weeks old, and Martha had little Rosie with her too. They had thrown Rose a baby shower, mostly just to have a chance to hang out since the TARDIS provided anything they'd really need for the babies. She had already redecorated the nursery for twins.

"I think Jack said something about fishing," Gwen said and Rose giggled at the thought of the men all out trying to fish.

"Can I hold her?" Rose asked Gwen and she smiled and handed Rose the baby gently. Anwen opened her tired eyes and looked up at Rose and Rose ran her finger down her chubby little cheek. "She's gorgeous," Rose told her with a huge smile.

"Thanks," Gwen said with a proud mama smile on her face.

"Okay, so I know you said no gifts," Sarah Jane said standing from her spot on the couch across from Rose. "But we got you one anyway." She pulled out two wrapped gifts; one wrapped in soft blush red and yellow the other in dusky blues and white. She opened the pink one first to find a baby book tucked into the tissue paper. It was the same color as the wrapping and Rose smiled at them.

"'S beautiful," she said then she opened the first page and her eyes pricked with tears. The page was titled 'Mum and Dad' and there were three different pictures under the heading, one of her with each of her Doctor's. She ran her finger tip over the face of her first Doctor and smiled. "Thank you." She said closing the book and picking up the other gift, it was a baby book as well, in the same dusty blues as the wrapping. The pictures inside this one were different than the other, but still pictures of her with all three of her Doctor's.

"Where'd you find the pictures?" Rose asked looking up after a few minutes of staring at the pictures.

"Well, the first two were harder, obviously," Martha said and Rose chuckled. "But I may have snuck into your old room last time I was on the TARDIS, hope you don't mind."

"Course I don't" Rose said shaking her head. "You guys are the very best, 'M lucky to have all of you."

~*~41 Weeks~Boys~*~

"So you ready for this?" Mickey asked as he lined up his shot and sent the white ball careening into the others.

"Ready for what?" The Doctor asked absentmindedly as he watched Mickey and Jack play pool. He had a beer in his hand, Jack insisted, but he'd yet to drink any of it.

"The babies," Mickey said in exasperation with a roll of his eyes at Rhys who sat on the other side of the pool table. The Doctor set his drink down on the high table next to him and let his shoulders drop just a little.

"Couldn't be more scared," he told them truthfully and Mickey smirked and nodded his head.

"Yeah, I remember when Johnny was born," he said as Jack took his shoot and two balls rolled into the corner pocket. "I was scared out of my mind." The Doctor nodded his head; he'd thought Mickey might understand. "But I picked it up pretty easily. And now he helps with Rosie all the time. He's turning into a great big brother."

"Just don't drop them," Rhys said and everyone chuckled and the Doctor nodded his head. Though that was not something he needed to be told.

~*~46 Weeks~*~

"They are beautiful," The Doctor murmured as he stared down at his daughter. She was only a few hours old but already he could see Rose in her. She had little tufts of curly honey blond hair on head. Rose looked up from their son, nursing at the moment and smiled at him, though he could see just how tired she was.

"They really are," she agreed with a happy sigh. "They still need names though." She said looking back down at their son. He actually reminded her a bit of her first Doctor, his eyes were a piercing blue and she hoped they stayed that color.

"Well, I was thinking," he said and she looked up at him and smirked and he stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed.

"You were thinking?" She prompted him after a moment and he nodded.

"Right, yes," he said folding his long frame into the chair next to her bed. "I was thinking Jacqueline for her middle name," he said and Rose smiled and nodded her head swiping at a few tears that fell down her face. "And for him I was thinking Michael," He said and Rose's smile grew and she nodded her head.

"What about first names?" She asked and he shook his head.

"No, you did all the hard work, you get to do first names," he told her and she chuckled nodding her head. She swallowed hard and looked down at her little boy.

"Well, I was kinda thinking..." She trailed off and looked up at him. "What would you think about Jason?" She watched his eyes for any hint of reservations or pain at her words but he just smiled.

"Yeah, Jason Michael Tyler," He said softly nodding his head. "And her?" He asked looking at the sleeping baby in his arms.

"I was thinking Amelia," she said and his face went blank for just a moment. "I started thinking about it when you told me the story of meeting her, in her back garden and I just... you don't like it. It's okay, I'll think of-

"I think it's great," he said his voice full of emotion and Rose looked into his eyes again, looking for the pain. She nodded when she didn't see but small traces of pain there.

"Are you sure?" She asked reaching over to place her free hand on his arm.

"Jason Michael and Amelia Jacqueline Tyler," he said the names rolling off his tongue with ease and he nodded his head and smiled at her. "Yeah, I'm sure." He said shifting Amelia in his arms so he could lean over and kiss Rose.

"I love you," She whispered against his lips.

"I love you Rose Tyler," He said rubbing her nose with his. "Forever."

A/N- Okay, that's it for now. If you'd like to see anything from her pregnancy or after the twins are born, drop me a review and maybe I'll be able to write something up. :-) Hope you enjoyed it!


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